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BIOGRAPHIES 



ATTORNEY-GENERAL GEORGE P. BARKER, JOHN 

C. LORD, D. D., MRS. JOHN C. LORD, AND 

WILLIAM G. BRYAN, ESO. 



ALSO, 



LECTURE ON JOURNALISM. 



By 



GEORGE J. BRYAN, 



OCT 2-1 1886 



BUFF A L O 



THE C O U R I E R COM P A N Y, 1' R I N T E R S. 

office of the D.iily Courier, 197 and 199 Main Street. 
1886. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, 

By GEORGE J. BRYAN, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



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PREFACE. 



More than a generation ago, I wrote the" Life of Attorne)-- 
General GiiuRGE P. Barker." It was written con aviorc, and, 
I am happy to say, met with much favor, and was rewarded 
with success. Prominent among those who were kind in their 
approval of it, were the poet-editor of America, William 
Cullen Bryant, and John Van Buren. Time has not dimin- 
ished my admiration of General Barker's genius and fascinating 
social qualities. I mainly reproduce the pen-portraitures of 
thirty-seven years ago ! Then, Buffalo onh' contained some 
45,000 inhabitants. Now, it is a metropolitan cit\', with near 
a quarter of a million souls ! I was hopeful in the olden time 
as to the future of our Queen City of the Lakes. Now, its 
brilliant success is assured. 

My work also contains a memoir of the late John C. Lord, 
D. D., one of the leading divines of the nation, and of Old 
School Presbyterianism. He was, in heart and soul, identified 
with the early history, the progression and the welfare of our 
city, and his memory is fondly cherished as one of its pillars. 

A memoir of Mrs. JOHN C. LORD, whose life was consecrated 
to offices of religion and humanity, one whom all honored and 
revered, also appears in this volume. 

I am permitted by the author, L. B. Proctor, Esq., to copy 
from his valuable work, " The Bench and Bar of New York," 
(issued in 1870) the memoir of my deceased brother, VViLLlAM 
G. Bryan, Esq., of Batavia, N. Y. It will, doubtless, be read 
with interest by his many friends. 

I acknowledge the many obligations I am under to Hon. 
James O. Putnam, and Hon. Stephen Lockwood, for the 



vi Preface. 

facilities they afforded me in the presentation of my sketches 
of Dr. and Mrs. John C. Lord. I Hberally availed myself of 
the memorial papers of Mr. Putnam, of both. From Judge 
Lockwood's "Analysis of Dr. Lord's Religious Character," I 
found my impressions of the Doctor freshened and improved. 

I am also deeply grateful to the Hon. Jewett M. Richmond 
and Rev. Robert Dick, for their generous and timely assist- 
ance in the publication of this work. 

Finally, I call attention to the reproduction of my lecture on. 
Journalism, delivered before the Buffalo Historical Society; 
in 1876. I have added several pages to it, in order to render 
it more complete and bring the record down to the present 
time. In presenting the combined work, I recall to mind the 
many kindnesses and generous support T have received at the 
hands of the citizens of Buffalo during the past forty years. 
I am profoundly grateful for them. I have endeavored, to the 
best of my ability, to advocate the interests of the beautiful 
city in which so great a portion of my life has been spent. I 
have endeavored to uphold the rights, the amenities and the 
dignity of the Press ; I have written this volume in the spirit 
of " malice towards none, charity towards all ! " 

To my cotemporaries in Journalism, I wish Godspeed in our 

noble profession. 

G. J. B. 

September iS, 1886. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

I. Life OF Attorney-General Geo. P. Barker, . 9 

II. Biography of John C. Lord, D. D 133 

III. Biography of Mrs. John C. Lord, .... 147 

IV. Biography of William G. Bryan, 161 

V. Journalism, 185 



LIFE OF GEORGE F. BARKER, 



CHAPTER I. 

Iiitioduction — Eaily Career of Mr. Barker — His Collegiate History. 

Conspicuous among those names which have shed hister on 
Western New York, stands that of GEORGE Payson Barker. 
Though all that was mortal of him has been gathered to his 
fathers, the fragrance of his good name survives in its original 
freshness. In his . decease, Liberty lost one of its giant 
defenders; Oratory, one of its colossal pillars; Magnanimity, 
one of its noblest illustrations, and Generosity one of its 
striking examples. Few men ever lived in our country who 
were so singularly gifted with those rare qualities of the 
head and heart, that call forth admiration and enchain the 
affections. Entirely the architect of his own fortune, he 
carved out by his energy, perseverance and talent, a name 
of which any man might well be proud. He was a man of 
genius, impetuous and brilliant. Tall, exceedingly prepos- 
sessing and commanding in person; urbane in his manners; 
generous to a fault, with an ear never closed to the appeals 
of suffering humanity ; the possessor of oratorical powers 
which have been compared to those that immortalize the 
name of Henry Clay; endowed with good judgment; pos- 
sessing great decision and elasticity of mind ; accessible to 
all, no wonder he was so universally popular. His deep 
sympathy with the masses ; his appreciation of their true 
condition ; his ever ready aid to the suffering, gathered 
around him hosts of devoted friends, who were true, whether 
fortune frowned or smiled upon his pathway. Such were 



lo Biographies and Jourjialism, 

some of the general characteristics of the subject of this 
memoir. Citizens do not often overestimate townsmen, and 
sometimes see " things that are not to be seen " in the 
characters of those viewed through that distance which lends 
enchantment. As a general thing, Buffalonians, however, 
have ever done justice to GEORGE P. Barker. His name 
has become identified with the history of the city. His 
eloquence, his ardent, generous nature cannot soon be for- 
gotten. It is to place in a connected form the principal 
events of his brilliant career, that I write his biography. \ 
have no desire to pen a fulsome panegyric. I shall endeavdi" 
in the course of this work to give in detail his history. 
While I freely accord to many greater ability to do so, I 
concede to no one a more enthusiastic admiration of his dis- 
tinguishing traits. I purpose to narrate incidents illustrative 
of his character; to portray, as vividly and graphically as 
possible, his intellectual, moral and social qualities. If I 
succeed in chronicling a sufficiency of incidents to enable 
those who were unacquainted with him to arrive at an 
accurate estimate of his real character; if I can infuse into 
others something of the high admiration I entertain for the 
nobility of soul he possessed ; something like a just estimation 
of his genius, my object will be attained. In my humble 
judgment there are few men now living who excel him in 
those qualities which exalt and dignify. In the language of 
an esteemed friend and classmate of the deceased, he was 
" Generous, high-minded, frank and chivalrous ; gifted with 
a most delicate sense of honor, and a brilliant intellect. 
Whether he was a ' gentleman born ' or not, I cannot say, 
but I am certain that nature made him a gentleman. There 
was an irresistible charm in his manner that no art or 
inheritance could impart." 

Mr. Barker was born at Rindge, in the State of New 
Hampshire, on the twenty-fifth of October, 1807. He was 
an only child. His parents were respectable, and in his 



George P. Barker. 1 1 



«b 



mother's line are found some of the most distinguished men in 
New England. Her maiden name was Payson. Mr. Barker 
was much indebted to Rev. Dr. Payson, his maternal uncle, 
a clergyman of high standing, for his early education. He 
was prepared for college in his native state, under the private 
tuition of a clergyman, which was a custom much in vogue 
in New England thirty years since. He always thought this 
the most thorough part of his education. His father died 
when the subject of this memoir was quite young. His 
mother, however, is still living at Rindge. Although far 
advanced in years, she is still in full possession of all the 
faculties of a mind of remarkable strength, and enjoys the 
esteem of all who know her. 

The materials out of which to gather his early career, I 
found very imperfect. His character up to entering Amherst 
college, was that of a bold, restless and promising boy. He 
gave early indications of the genius for which he was after- 
wards noted. He was fond of youthful pastimes, and at an 
early age developed the vigorous frame of a man. He was 
admitted into Amherst college in 1823, and immediately 
became distinguished as an indefatigable student. He indeed 
soon ranked among the first scholars of the institution. 

He entered the senior class in Union college in October, 1826, 
on an honorable dismission from Amherst. Rev. Dr. Nott, 
the venerable and highly esteemed President of Union college, 
over which he has presided for some forty-four years, in 
answer to a letter addressed to him on the subject of 
Mr. Barker's collegiate career, writes me that he was in 
good standing as a scholar during the year he passed there, 
and that his attendance and application to study was equal 
to the best. He was in rather straightened circumstances, 
and depended mainly on his own exertions for support. 
He was often in the habit of attending the minor courts in 
Schenectady and some of the adjacent villages and trying 
causes. The remuneration, however, for these services was 



12 Biographies and yoiLrnalisui. 

of course inconsiderable. The college books show the prompt 
and honorable discharge, after leaving, of an obligation left 
with them for a portion of his college bills. Many of his 
classmates in college have become distinguished. Prominent 
among them are Hon. Preston King; Hon. Levi Hubbell, 
formerly adjutant-general of this state; Hon. Rufus W. Peck- 
ham, of Albany; William W. Campbell, of New York; 
Hon. Minthorne Tompkins, late state senator from Long 
Island ; Hon. Virgil Paris, late M. C. from Maine ; Hon. 
P. H. Sylvester, M. C. from Kinderhook ; Rev. Presidentri> 
Woods, of Bowdoin college, Brunswick, Maine ; Rev. President 
McMaster, of the Miami University, Oxford, Ohio; Rev. 
John Wayland, D. D., late of Canandaigua, and Ambrose 
Stevens, Esq., of New York. Rev. Arthur Burtis, now of 
this city, was also one of his classmates. In our city are 
located several gentlemen who were in Union college at 
the time of Mr. Barker's connection with it, but they 
were members of younger classes and consequently did not 
graduate the same year. Hon. John T. Hudson, Hon. 
Joseph G. Masten, Elijah Ford, Esq., Dr. Charles Winne, 
and Rev. M. La Rue P. Thompson, are all I now recollect. 
To many of these gentlemen I addressed communications 
for the purpose of eliciting facts relative to his collegiate 
history. Quite a number of them rendered me prompt and 
satisfactory answers, which were of essential service. Some 
of them pronounced feeling and beautiful eulogies on the 
great merits of deceased. They speak of his personal 
appearance at that age (about nineteen years), as being 
unusually imposing ; his manners and address quite superior ; 
his conversational powers as unrivaled; and as having a natural 
fluency which placed him much in advance of all others of 
his age in the charms of social conversation and in the 
debates in which the members of his class were called upon 
at times to engage. His liberality to students whose cir- 
cumstances or position were not equal to his own, was always 



George . P. Barker. 1 3 

extended to the limits of his means. His kindness of heart 
and uniform amenity of deportment won a high place in the 
affections of all in the institution. He was an attentive and 
industrious student. In general information, history, bio- 
graphy, classical literature and the belles-lettres, he had few 
equals. Although in some departments of the course of 
studies he might have had superiors, it was thought he was 
unsurpassed in general scholarship. All confidently predicted 
that he would rise to distinction in after-life. It was conceded 
that he possessed abilities, industry and energy sufficient to 
surmount all obstacles ; they were of such a sterling character 
as to be depressed by no opposition or adversity. He was 
in his college career sensibly alive to a good joke ; in fact, 
were I disposed, I could narrate some adventures in which he 
shone proudly conspicuous. But, as it would be inconsistent 
with the Hmits of this work to do so, I forbear. None of 
them, however, exhibited qualities of a very exceptionable 
nature. They were simply the exuberances of a high-spirited 
youth ; the offspring of a magnanimous disposition ; the 
natural result of a keen sense of the ridiculous, and a convivial 
temperament. In many men they would have been less 
pardonable. They were to him part of his existence. He 
graduated with honor on the twenty-seventh of July, 1827, 
with the regard of his fellow-students and the respect of the 
faculty, and at the public commencement delivered an oration 
which elicited warm encomiums by the elegance of its com- 
position and the eloquence of its delivery. His departure 
from the institution was regarded by those who knew him, 
as the breaking up of agreeable associations and the sundering 
of the pleasant bonds of social intercourse. 



14 Biographies and Journalism. 



CHAPTER II. 

His Life as a Student — Incidents — His Admission to the Bar — Nominated for the 
Legislature — Appointed District Attorney — His Marriage — Nominated for 
Congress. 

Mr. Barker came on to Buffalo with a fearless heart and 
with a determination to succeed in whatever he might under- <■ 
take. He arrived in the city about the first of August, 1827, 
and soon after entered the office of Stephen G. Austin, Esq., 
a highly respectable citizen, as a student at law. While in 
college, he entered his name as a student in the office of 
Alonzo C. Paige, Esq., in Schenectady, and, on leaving, 
procured a certificate of six months' clerkship. He came 
into the city a stranger, but soon gained the esteem of some 
of the most substantial citizens by his industry and application 
to business, and noble social qualities. I need not recount 
his arduous struggles to rise, the difficulties he overcame, nor 
the courage with which he surmounted obstacles. Like other 
students, he sometimes resorted to minor courts, and engaged 
in the causes which came under their jurisdiction. He soon 
attracted public attention by his superior oratorical powers, 
and was regarded as a young man of great promise. Vice- 
President Fillmore and Mr. Barker were frequently employed 
on opposite sides in these minor courts, and each exerted 
himself to the utmost. Probably neither then anticipated 
their subsequent brilliant career. Mr. Fillniore then evinced 
that great industry and application which has since distin- 
guished him, and laid the foundation of his future eminence. 

The dull routine of Mr. Barker's studies were occasionally 
enlivened by adventures, some of which I shall notice. In 
order more fully to appreciate them, and not imbibe from 
tiicm an erroneous impression, it is perhaps proper for me to 



George P. Bar kef. 1^ 

state that Buffalo, at that early day, was essentially different 
from the present busy emporium. It was then a small but 
rapidly growing village. It is now a great commercial city, 
of 45,000 inhabitants. The harbor did not then, as now, 
present a forest of masts, and numerous floating steam 
palaces. The streets were not as now thronged with a moving 
mass of life by day, nor illumined by brilliant gas-lights at 
night; The genius of Benjamin Rathbun had not then 
adorned it with edifices, which in architectural beauty and 
size compare favorably with those in older cities. Block 
after block of stately warehouses, and splendid private 
residences were not as now observed on all sides. None then 
living anticipated the rapid advances the city has since made 
in population, business and wealth. In other respects there 
was a difference. The want of literary institutions like the 
Young Men's Association, was felt by the young men, and 
the customs of the time were such as ordinarily pertain to a 
newly settled town. There is in every man's life a period 
when he acts from impulse. Youth, it is conceded, is generally 
that period. Then, if at all, do the passions master the 
judgment. 

The subjoined incident has been kindly furnished by an 
intimate friend of deceased — a gentleman of high respectability 
— one who was alike his friend in youth and in after life when 
honors clustered around him. He was a participator also 
in the adventure. It illustrates his power to engage and 
entertain under most unpropitious circumstances, by his 
extraordinary command of language, his eloquent descriptive 
powers, his wit, his address and manly bearing : 

" On one occasion, some eighteen years ago, BARKER and 
another young gentleman, with myself, got up a sleigh ride, 
and invited ten young ladies to go with us in a large stage 
sleigh to Hamburgh, some twelve miles out. We started late 
in the afternoon, intending to return in the evening after 
supper. Our ride out and sojourn at the public house there, 



1 6 Biographies and yoitrnalism. 

was exceedingly enlivened by Barker's inexhaustible fund of 
wit and humor. But before we were ready to return there 
came on a most violent storm of snow and wind, which damp- 
ened the ardor and alarmed some of the more timid of the 
young ladies. We, however, sallied forth to return about ten 
o'clock — ten young ladies and three gentlemen crowded into 
one sleigh — full of glee and animation, though the storm was 
unusuall}' violent, even for this lake shore. 

" After proceeding a mile or two, the driver lost his road, 
and wandered far out of his way, so that after some three 
hours' drive, over roads almost entirely obstructed by the drift-' 
ing snow, we came to a dead halt in an open field, without the 
power of going another foot, and, as we afterwards learned, 
some six miles out of our way in the town of Boston, a mile 
or more from any house, the weather intensely cold, with the 
storm and darkness increasing if possible. It was then that 
we all drew on Barker's resources to cheer, animate and 
encourage the ladies under the exigencies of the case, which 
had really become no joke. They all had to get out into the 
snow, knee-deep, so that we men, with the driver, could lift the 
sleigh round and get the horses again attached, taking our 
back track with a view of finding some habitation, as it had 
become absolutely necessary, to keep from perishing. We at 
length reached a farm-house, roused the family, got a fire 
made, and our girls restored to life, and a pilot to conduct us 
on our right road. We reached a public house at Potter's 
Corners between two and three o'clock, when we stopped and 
took another supper, and then pursued our way home, reach- 
ing liuffalo a little after sunrise, with the thermometer below 
zero, nearer dead than alive. lUit in all the trouble and diffi- 
culty here related, our drafts on I^arker were not dishonored ; 
he was the life of the party. Amid all the suffering and alarm 
of the }'oung ladies, he would more than half the lime keep 
them in a roar of laughter b}' his wit and humor. 

" Of this part)- of thirteen individuals at this famous sleigh 



George P. Barker. i 7 

ride, which has ever been regarded by us all as an event of 
considerable importance in our lives, and always spoken of with 
much interest by ourselves and friends who were at the time 
acquainted with the facts, several of them have since died, 
several others are married and live here, and others are scat- 
tered about in various parts of the country, and will readily 
recognize this sketch of that sleigh ride to Hamburgh with 
Barkbr." 

The same gentleman says: "During my intercourse with 
Mr. Barker of some twenty years, we have passed through 
many scenes together of mirth and frolic, scenes of business of 
much importance, and seasons of sickness, trouble and great 
difficulty, and I have ever found him the same kind-hearted 
friend, the same judicious counselor, and the same high-minded, 
honorable man." 

It may not be considered irrelevant that I should now advert 
to the least attractive features in the character of him 1 am 
endeavoring to delineate. It is not surprising that a difference 
of opinion should exist as to the province of a biographer. 
All whose good opinion I most desire to retain, agree with me 
that a fulsome eulogy is exceptionable. But all are not agreed 
as to the course to be pursued to avoid subjecting myself to 
the charge of indiscriminate praise. My view of it, however, 
is that other than a general allusion to the exceptional char- 
acteristics of the subject of my memoir, I should particularly 
confine myself to giving, as fully and accurately as possible, 
his professional and political history. I have endeavored to 
conform to this opinion in a satisfactory manner. I have only 
deviated from it by introducing incidents illustrative of quali- 
ties we can all commend. I am conscious that Mr. Barker 
had faults, for who has not ? But, compared with his virtues, 
they were insignificant. Whatever may have been their nature, 
they were never justified, and, in the latter period of his life, 
were deeply regretted. I do not deem it necessary to define 
them. I ask no one to imitate other than his virtues. In con- 



1 8 Biographies and yournalism. 

sidering some adventures of his life, all the accompanying cir- 
cumstances should be weighed ; the period when they occurred, 
the character of the customs which prevailed at the time, the 
peculiar disposition and attributes of the man and his after 
conduct. As to the particular character of them, it is of no 
consequence. The great point to be considered is, from 
whence did they emanate ? Were they afterwards regretted ? 
Were they ever justified ? With these observations I shall 
take leave of this subject. I am conscious of my own recti- 
tude in making these allusions, and think they are alike due tc». 
myself and him to whom they relate. 

Youth, hilarity and freedom from care are generally associ- 
ated together. In after years, when man reaches maturity and 
old age, he often looks back with peculiar emotion to the 
golden hours of his youth. Its pleasures and its thousand 
glorious reminiscences are still dear to him, and he cherishes 
their recollection as he would the memory of a pleasant dream. 
Social pastimes, however, did not divert Mr. Barker's atten- 
tion from subjects of more moment. These sufficed but for his 
leisure hours. His intellect craved something more substantial. 
Previous to his leaving college he had taken no active part in 
the politics of the day, being devoted entirely to the prose- 
cution of his studies. It may readily be conceived, however, 
that his active and intelligent mind could not long remain 
indifferent to the great questions of state which have divided 
and agitated the public mind from the foundation of the gov- 
ernment ; nor that he could refrain from being an actor in the 
great political strife for power and principle going on around 
him. He had, accordingly, investigated the origin of parties; 
carefully marked their distinctive characteristics, and from 
reason, conviction and inclination, he had earl}' attached him- 
self to the principles of democracy. At the time of his arrival 
in Buffalo, the state was agitated by the conflicting strife of 
three political parties — the Jackson or democratic, the national 
republican, and anti-masonic parties. In the eighth district 



George P. Barker. 19 

the anti-masonic party prevailed by a large majority over 
both the others ; the national republican party was next in 
numerical strength, and the Jackson or democratic party was 
the smallest of the three. Actuated by no motive but prin- 
ciple, Mr. Barker did not hesitate in which of the three 
parties to enroll himself. Regardless of interests, immediate 
or remote, and fully sensible of the hopeless minority of the 
democratic party in this section, he fearlessly enrolled himself 
in its ranks, and with all his energy, zeal and ability, entered 
into the support of General Jackson and the principles of 
democracy. He wrote leading editorials during the campaign, 
for the Buffalo Republican, the first democratic paper published 
in this city, and also furnished political communications for the 
same paper, over the signature of " Amor Patria." He like- 
wise, though not upon the committee appointed to prepare it, 
wrote the first address issued to the electors of this county by 
a democratic convention. The Jackson party, as the demo- 
cratic masses were styled, numbered then but a small band 
against an overwhelming majority of the dominant party in 
this section, but it was the nucleus around which the democ- 
racy have since been rallying, and their " corporal's guard " of 
those times has often subsequently proved that the phalanx of 
their opponents is not invincible. The address then penned 
by Mr. Barker is rather to be regarded as a foil to the splendid 
efforts of his after-career, than as a production giving evidence 
of those greater abilities that so shortly afterwards were com- 
mandingly developed. It was made a mark to be shot at by 
the newspaper scribblers of the day, who were particularly 
severe in their animadversions. The address was, in truth, 
metaphorical to a fault, dcclamative rather than argumenta- 
tive in style, and more in the " Sophomore " vein than con- 
sistent with the grave nature of a declaration of political 
principles. It was of the imagination rather than the reason — 
but gave evidence, even in its unpruned luxuriance, of that 
fertility of genius, which, in after years, when time and oppor- 



20 Biographies and yournalism. 

tunity had developed and cultivated his native powers, made 
Mr. Barker the eloquent orator. 

In the excitement of the political warfare, which grew out 
of the anti-masonic controversy, there were many bitter 
things said on both sides. Mr. BARKER was particularly 
happy in repelling invectives of this character, by the severe 
retort, or the unanswerable sarcasm. On one occasion, when 
an opponent was denouncing General Washington and other 
great men of the revolution for having countenanced the 
" mummeries of masonry," Mr. BARKER replied: "Why, sii;, 
a single kick from one of those illustrious men would have 
immortalized you." 

I have often heard Mr. BARKER encourage his political 
friends to renewed exertions during the dark campaign of 
1840, and at the first inception of the division of the party in 
this state, by reciting the events which transpired in this 
county in 1828, when the Jackson party was formed. He said 
the first Jackson meeting ever convened in this city was 
attended by only seven persons, but they pressed forward and 
made regular nominations for all offices in the county. A 
large hand-bill containing the nominations was printed, sur- 
mounted by an eagle large enough to protect a eontitient. He 
mounted a gaunt nag, with ample saddle-bags filled with the 
democratic posting bills, and thus commenced his first political 
pilgrimage in this county, bouyant in youthful spirits and firm 
in purpose, determined that the people here at least should 
have an opportunity to see democratic nominations, if they 
could not appreciate them. Nothing occurred to disturb his* 
quiet avocation until he arrived, I believe, at Boston Corners. 
There he fi)und a bar-room filled with village politicians, debat- 
ing the heinous crime of voting or giving countenance to the 
democratic ticket. Mr. Barker, with the coolness which was 
often manifest in his character, approached the landlord and 
suggested that he had a hand-bill which he wished to put up. 
The landlord, without knowing the nature of the missile. 



Georoe P. Barker. 2 i 



«b 



readily consented. He then commenced unrolling the ample 
folds of the printed eagle and nailed the same at the top of 
the wall, and then followed along down the democratic nomi- 
nation, and, as he drove the nails into the lower part of the 
bill, the sound was more dismal to the audience than was the 
hammer of the celebrated Luther to the Catholic bishops, 
when he nailed his creed to the door of the cathedral at Wit- 
tenberg. The audacity of the tall and graceful young demo- 
crat for a time confounded the anti-masonic congregation, and 
silence reigned. But, finally, after a long and breathless 
pause, a man of gigantic proportions, with a huge " paw," well 
suited to the size of the eagle, brought down with one fell 
swoop the bird of Jove and the democratic nominations. 
The blood of young BARKER was aroused at the indignity, and 
as quick as thought he precipitated the hammer at the head 
of the intruder, which brought him to the floor on the demo- 
cratic platform which he had so ruthlessly torn from the wall. 
" Then commenced in that little bar-room," said Mr. Barker, 
" the contest between the anti-masonic and democratic par- 
ties, with the proportion of thirty to one." After a few inter- 
changes of bar-room courtesies, Mr. Barker, through the 
intercession of the landlord, made a compromise with his 
assailants, but a number of the actors bore away on their eyes 
marks of the democratic influence. When Mr. Barker was 
prepared to leave, he found that his horse, which had been 
fastened at the door, had been turned loose and had wended 
his way home alone, and when found was shorn of his tail and 
mane, and bedaubed in a manner I cannot describe. The 
saddle-bags and democratic hand-bills, saddle and bridle, 
were discovered hanging at the top of a sign-post, and found 
guilty of high treason against anti-masonry. 

The manner in which he would relate incidents like the 
above reached the hearts of his hearers and revived the 
drooping spirits of his political associates. 

The election of 1828 resulted, as is well known, in the 



2 2 Biographies and Joiirnalisni. 

LMitire defeat of national republicanism and anti-masonry, and 
the triumph throughout this state and the United States 
was complete. And to this result, Mr. Barker contributed 
in no trifling degree. 

He was admitted to the bar in 1830, and commenced the 
regular practice of his profession. Immediately after hii. admis- 
sion, he entered into a copartnership with S. G. Austin, Esq. 
The bar of Erie County at that time, comprised as much 
talent and learning, as perhaps any other of equal number 
in the state; and Mr. Barker had besides to contend against 
the odds of well-established reputations, powerful connections, 
and settled business. He was, however, undaunted. He 
entered upon practice with the same untiring diligence and 
energy which distinguished him as a student, and he rose 
rapidly to the rank of the very first. He was appointed 
Clerk of the Village of Buffalo, on the second of June, 1829. 
In 1 83 1, he was for the first time brought before the people 
for an elective office. He was nominated by the democratic 
party of the county for member of assembly. The election 
was not a general one, and no important questions were 
before the electors to call out a full vote. He, nevertheless, 
obtained a handsome majority in the city, and the opposition 
majority in the county scarcely exceeded eight hundred. 
This vote, when the attendant circumstances are considered, 
evinced his popularity in an eminent dej^ree. His youth; 
his brilliant talents ; his great personal popularity, and his 
ambition rendered him an object of envy to older politicians 
and they put forth every exertion to secure his defeat. 
There was also a strong and confident majority to contend 
against. The official canvass was as follows : Horace Clark, 
anti-mason, 2,287; William Mills, anti-mason, 2,066; George 
P. Barker, democrat, 1,459; Calvin Bishop, democrat, 1,216. 

In June, 1832, the copartnership which had existed from 
1830 between S. G. Austin, Esq., and Mr. Barker, was dissolved, 
and a copartnership was formed with John T. Hudson, Esq., 



George P. Barker. 23 

under the firm of Barker and Hudson. This partnership 
continued until April, 1836. He was appointed Attorney for 
the City of Buffalo in 1832. He was the first attorney of 
the city. The same year, as soon as the rule of court per- 
mitted, he was admitted to the degree of counselor, and 
immediately after was appointed district attorney of the 
county. The duties of the office were then, as now, extremely 
arduous and responsible. The criminal business transacted 
in Erie County, and which of course comes under the super- 
vision of the prosecuting officer, is greater than in any county 
in the state. New York alone excepted. Mr. Barker made 
a fearless and able officer, and discharged his duties in a 
manner alike creditable to himself and satisfactory to the 
community. He, in fact, laid the foundation for a higher 
legal position. I shall here briefly notice the imperial manner 
in which Mr. BARKER addressed a jury. The annals of 
Western New York do not furnish his equal in that respect. 
Although he could enchain a popular assemblage by the 
vigor and beauty of his declamation, his forte was before a 
jury. With a tall and commanding person, he united the 
rare qualities of a melodious voice of great power and dis- 
cipline. His pronunciation, although occasionally ornamental, 
was generally correct, and his command of language wonderful. 
His figures were always striking and oftentimes extremely 
brilliant. His manner was animated and impassioned. He 
portrayed the passions with an artist's fidelity. He thrilled 
by his towering declamation, fascinated by his persuasive 
powers; moved by his pathos; his "gentlemen of the jury" 
once heard could not be forgotten. He was effective both in 
the defense and in the prosecution. Indeed, many of his 
intimate friends in the legal profession are undecided where 
he shone best — in the attack or defense. His efforts were 
generally crowned with success. He seized upon the prominent 
features of a case at once, and then presented them with 
great perspicuity. In the retort he was ever ready. He 



24 Biographies and yoiirnalisuL 

loved a joke. He indulged his facetiae sometimes, even at 
the peril of his cause. His splendid efforts before juries are 
deserving of a better eulogy than I can give. Though few 
are in print, the name of those engraven on the memory of 
our citizens, is legion. 

Mr. Barker discharged the duties of his office until the 
December term of the common pleas in 1836, when he 
resigned, and Hon. Henry K. Smith was appointed his 
successor. Mr. Smith held the office until the seventh of 
June, 1837, when Henry W. Rogers, Esq., was appointed. 
Mr. Rogers, after serving two terms, was succeeded by 
S. G. Haven, Esq., in June, 1843. Each of these gentlemen 
are well known as able lawyers, and severally performed their 
duties in a satisfactory manner. 

In the summer of 1834, Mr. Barker was married to 
Miss Abby Coit, a lady of high respectability and very superior 
accomplishments. This connection was productive of much 
happiness which was unbroken until Mr. Barker's death. 
Mrs. Barker is a sister of George Coit, Esq., one of our oldest 
and most respectable citizens. After her husband's demise, 
she returned to her relatives at Norwich, Connecticut. 

In the fall of the same year, Mr. BARKER was nominated 
for congress by the democratic party. This, it will be recol- 
lected, was the panic year. The election was a general one ; 
party lines were strictly drawn, political feelings ran high and 
the opposition exerted their utmost strength. Mr. Barker's 
friends entertained no hopes of success ; indeed, defeat seemed 
inevitable. He, notwithstanding, received two hundred more 
votes than any other candidate on the democratic ticket, and 
his opponent was elected by nearly three hundred less votes 
than any other candidate on the opposition ticket. The 
official canvass shows the following : Thomas C. Love, 
anti-mason, 4,783 ; George P. Barker, democrat, 2,466. 



George P. Barker. 25 



CHAPTER III. 

Elected to the Legislature — His Legislative Career. 

I HAVE thus far chronicled Mr. Barker's defeat as a 
candidate for public favor. I have now to speak of his 
success. Undaunted by previous trials; unshaken in their 
high estimation of their favorite ; unawed by the over- 
whelming anti-masonic majority in the county against them, 
Mr. Barker's political and personal friends again placed 
him in nomination for the assembly in the fall of 1835. 
They gathered around and bore him triumphantly through 
the contest. It was a severe one. His splendid abilities 
and great personal popularity rendered his defeat " a con- 
summation devoutly to be wished." Everything was brought 
to bear against him which ingenuity, hatred and envy could 
devise. His strength with the people, however, was too 
great to be overcome. His star was in the ascendant. The 
canvass resulted in his election by the very handsome majority 
of 1,180! In the City of Buffalo, his residence, where of 
course he was best known, and where the great strength and 
influence of the opposition principally lay, out of a poll of 
•about 1,900 votes he received a majority of 1,212! The vote 
in the county was as follows: George P. Barker, democrat, 
3,400; Chauncey Hastings, democrat, 2,442 ; Noah P. Sprague, 
whig, 2,220; Wells Brooks, whig, 2,652. 

Thus, in the twenty-eighth year of his age, in the zenith 
of his intellect, he was called to take part in the legislation 
of the Empire State! Subsequent events fully demonstrated 
that his friends had rightly estimated his abilities. His 
legislative career reflected honor on Western New York, and 
placed his fame beyond the reach of envy and calumny. 
3 



26 Ih'oQrapkies and yoiirualisjn. 

The November election in 1835 was not very sharply 
contested in most of the counties in the state. It as usual 
resulted in favor of the democratic party. The following- 
senators were chosen : 

From the First District, Henry Floyd Jones. 

From the Second District, Ebenezer Lounsbury and John Hunter. 

From the Third District, James Powers. 

From the Fourth District, David Spraker. 

From the Fifth District, David Wager and Micah Sterling. 

From the Sixth District, George Huntington. 

From the Seventh District, John Beardsley. 

From the Eighth District, Chauncey J. Fox. 

All of these were elected on the regular democratic ticket, 
except Mr. Fox, of the eighth district, who was a whig. 
Mr. Fox was elected by a majority which did not much 
exceed 160. 

The legislature met on the fifth of January, 1836. Both 
branches were strongly democratic. Hon. John Trac)', 
Lieutenant-Governor, made an able presiding officer in the 
senate. Hon. Charles Humphrey, was re-elected speaker of 
the house and presided with dignit\\ By the proceedings of 
a caucus of the democratic members of the house, held for 
the purpose of nominating officers for the session, I perceive 
General Lockwood, of Westchester, presided, and Mr. Barker, 
of Erie, and Mr. Wetmore, of New York, were secretaries. 
One hundred and five members were present and answered 
to their names. Governor Marcy's annual message was com- 
municated to both houses on the 5th. The Albany Argus, 
of the 5th, speaking of it, says: 

" The topics of more direct interest and importance — the 
increase of the banking capital of the state, internal improve- 
ments, relief to the City of New York under the recent 
calamitous fire, and the movements and designs of the 
abolitionists, particularly the latter, are treated with great 
fullness, and with a frankness and directness of manner, 



George P. Barker. 27 

becoming the occasion and the subject, and worthy of the 
character of a chief magistrate who has devoted all his 
energies, during an able and prosperous administration of the 
government, to the promotion of the welfare of the people." 

The governor communicated on the 6th a special message 
to both houses on the subject of the great fire in New York 
City in December, 1835, by which immense loss of property 
was sustained and great suffering brought upon thousands. 
The citizens of New York had previously appointed Messrs. 
Philip Hone, Daniel Jackson, James B. Murray, and Charles 
Augustus Davis, a committee to wait upon his excellency 
and endeavor to obtain legislative relief for the city. 

The message and accompanying documents were referred 
to a joint committee as follows: Messrs. Van Schaick, 
L. Beardsley and Wager of the senate, and Messrs. VVetmore, 
Dayan, M. H. Sibley, Luther Bradish and G. P. Barker of 
the assembly. 

Among the standing committees of the session, Mr. 
Barker's name appears as follows: 

On Ways and Means. — Messrs. Dayan, Morgan, G. P. Barker, 
Seymour and Carroll. 

On Colleges^ Academics and Coniuwn Schools. — Messrs. 
Wetmore, Duane, G. P. Barker, Yates and Bradish. 

He was also a member of the joint select committee on 
so much of the governor's message as related to the con- 
stitutional rights and safety of the states in relation to 
domestic slavery. It consisted of Messrs. Mack, Wager 
and Willes of the senate, and Messrs. Judd, G. P. Barker, 
Duane, Cowdrey and Tomlinson, of the assembly. 

Before alluding at length to Mr. Barker's legislative 
career, I shall briefly describe some of the more prominent 
members, and, certainly, it comprised much more than 
ordinary ability. 

In the senate there were several democratic members of 
decided ability, although since the withdrawal of Mr. N. P. 



28 Biographies and yournalisni. 

Tallmadge, elected to the United States senate, there was 
no one to whom the character of the leader of the party in 
that body was generally accorded. Among them I may name 
Mr. Young, of Saratoga, and Mr. Beardsley, of Otsego. 

Of Mr. Young it is scarcely necessary to speak, for having 
filled for many years important public stations, he is well 
known as a man of genius and extensive attainments. 

Mr. Beardsley was a shrewd and skillful legislator, who, 
without pretentions to eloquence, exercised a prominent 
influence on all important subjects to which his attention 
was directed. 

Several other members of the senate on the democratic side 
might also be referred to in this connection, if my limits would 
justify the introduction of all who possessed considerable 
ability and distinction. 

There were but four opposition members in the senate, and 
they were all from the eighth district. 

Albert H. Tracy, of Buffalo, stood confessedly in the front 
rank in the senate. Mr. Tracy is a proud example of the suc- 
cess which in this country rewards well-directed effort and 
honorable ambition. He is truly the architect of his own for- 
tune. As long ago as 1818 he represented in congress the 
district which then comprised the counties of Allegany, Catta- 
raugus, Chautauqua, Ontario, Genesee and Niagara. Since 
then, however, Erie, Orleans, Monroe, Seneca, Wyoming and 
Yates have been formed from it, and several new districts 
created. He was but twenty-five years of age at the time of 
his election, but so great was his industry and application to 
the practical duties of legislation that he was elected three 
successive terms. In 1829, he was first elected to the senate 
of this state, and at once took a high position. His experi- 
ence in parliamentary usages, his great industry, his clear 
mind, his sound judgment and prepossessing manners won for 
him a senatorial reputation which must be enduring. He was 
re-elected in 1833, as an anti-mason, and during his whole 



George P. Barker. 2g 

term fully sustained his reputation. Mr. Tracy, by his powers 
of comprehension, his acuteness, his high character and capac- 
ity for business, is indisputably qualified for a much higher 
position than he has yet filled. He possesses a highly-culti- 
vated mind, and his style as a speaker and writer is forcible 
and elegant. 

Mr. Fox was an industrious member, and is a man of fine 
talents. 

On the democratic side, in the house, Preston King, of St. 
Lawrence, first claims my attention. He was an industrious 
and valuable member, and displayed, during the session of 
1836, that skill and tact for which he has since become so 
widely distinguished. Though not an orator he is still a ready 
and forcible debater. His congressional career has placed him 
in a high rank as a politician, and he is known throughout the 
Union as the able defender of the Wilmot Proviso. 

Our respected fellow-citizen, Hon. Charles E. Shepard, 
came to Buffalo in 1850 and entered upon the practice of the 
law. He has resided among us ever since, and is universally 
esteemed for his many sterling qualities. Firm in his opinions 
and affable to all, he makes a favorable impression upon those 
who come in contact with him. It will be of interest to m}' 
readers to learn that he was a member of the legislature with 
General Barker in 1836, and was on terms of intimacy and 
friendship with him. Both were Jacksonian democrats of the 
genuine Old Hickory type. Both represented counties that 
had uniformly given heavy whig majorities. At the time of 
Mr. Shepard's election to the assembly he lived at Aurora, 
Cayuga County, a county which was known as Governor 
Seward's stronghold. He was nominated without solicitation 
on his part and elected without serious opposition. The 
second time he was elected by a handsome majority. His 
record in the legislature was an honorable one. He made a 
decided hit in a speech against the State of New York grant- 
ing aid to the Erie Railroad to the amount of $3,000,000, and 



30 Biographies and yournalism. 

making Dunkirk its terminus. Thurlow Weed, of the Albany 
Evening Journal, complimented Mr. Shepard on this speech, 
saying: " Shepard, if you had made your speech on the third 
reading of the bill it would have defeated it." He was among 
the first of the leading democrats in Buffalo to join the repub- 
lican party. Like the Van Burens, Silas Wright, George P. 
Barker, Philip Dorsheimer, E. B. Vedder, and other prominent 
and time-honored democrats, he was unalterably opposed to 
slave extension, favored the Wilmot Proviso, and consequently 
could not, without doing violence to his conscience, any longer 
act with a party with pro-slavery proclivities. In various 
instances he was recognized as a man of influence. He held 
the office of Postmaster of Aurora under Presidents Jackson 
and Van Buren, and also that of master and examiner in 
chancery, holding the latter position for several years, in fact, 
until the court of chancery was abolished. 

Horace Gay, of Monroe, was a useful member. He is a 
gentleman of integrity, very fair legal attainments, and pos- 
sesses literary acquirements of no common order. He was a 
warm personal friend of Mr. Barker, and now speaks feelingly 
of their intimacy. He still resides in the City of Rochester. 

John Chamberlain, of Orleans, was elected in a county 
opposed to him in politics, owing to his personal popularity. 
He did not speak often, but when he did it was with great 
effect. In his personal appearance he was a unique character. 
Negligent in dress ; his every joint moved with a loose and 
irregular motion ; his frame was stooping, and he had about 
him an air of abstraction that marked him for an original. At 
times, however, he would raise his bent form to an erect atti- 
tude and become the accomplished orator ; his voice was clear 
and musical and his manner brilliant and impassioned. Great 
as was his mind, it had important defects. He was sometimes 
haunted with fits of misanthropy and melancholy. He was 
prostrated by disease for a number of years, and finally emi- 
grated to an obscure portion of Illinois, where his talents, 



George P. Ba^'ker. 31 

which might have been the admiration of his fellow-citizens, 
remain unknown and unappreciated. 

Francis B. Cutting and Prosper M. Wetmore, of New York, 
and Mr. Dayan, of Lewis, were active and valuable members, 
and are deserving of a more extended notice than my limits 
will permit. 

Prominent among the opposition members of the house 
was Luther Bradish, then of Franklin County and now of New 
York City. Dignified and courteous in debate, possessing ex- 
cellent judgment and an enviable reputation for integrity, he 
has ever ranked high in the estimation of his political friends 
and enjoys in a great degree the respect of his opponents, 

Mark H, Sibley, of Ontario, is a ready and accomplished 
debater and first-rate lawyer. He was elected to congress in 
1836, and was a member of the senate of this state in 1839. 
He has displayed ability in all these positions and was an active 
member during the session. 

George W. Patterson, of Chautauqua (now lieutenant-gov- 
ernor of the state) is a man of intelligence and an able legis- 
lator. He was first elected to the assembly in 1832. He 
represented Livingston in 1836, and was an active and very 
useful member. He was also speaker of the house during 
the session of 1839. ^'^^- Patterson's career thus far has been 
honorable to himself and creditable to his political friends. 

Richard P. Marvin, of Chautauqua, is well known to our 
citizens as one of the supreme court justices of the eighth 
judicial district. He was a member of the constitutional con- 
vention in 1846, and as a member of congress creditably sus- 
tained himself. He is a man of good talents, and possesses 
uncommon industry. 

These gentlemen are by no means all on the opposition side 
who were members during the session, nor are they all who are 
deserving a notice. It would not be consistent, however, with 
my limits to extend this portion of the work. 

It was among such men as I have feebly attempted to 



32 Biographies and yournalism. 

sketch that Mr. BARKER acquired his legislative reputation. 
But his fine oratorical powers, excellent discretion, agreeable 
manners and integrity of purpose at once enabled him not 
only successfully to compete with them, but also to take and 
maintain a prominent position. I am sustained by incontesti- 
ble evidence in pronouncing him one of the very first members 
of the house in 1836.* The first remarks he made in the 
house, of which any record is to be found, were made in 
committee of the whole, on Saturday, January i6th, on the 
" Bill for the Relief of the City of New York." The questioi^ 
pending was on the substitute proposed by Mr. Bradish for 
the third section. I copy from the Argus : 

" He said that, although a member of the select committee 
which reported this bill, he thought it fair to state, and he 
wished to advertise that committee, that he had no particular 
parental feeling for it ; but although he feared that the main 
object of it might be lost sight of in attempting to perfect it, 
he, for one, after some reflection, had concluded to support 
this section. If he had erred in that conclusion, on him rested 
the responsibility ; nor had he any wish — he could have none 
— to influence the least action of the house, unless dictated by 
the intelligence and purity which ought always to guide their 
deliberations. He had no part to play in the matter; no point 
to gain, except simply to discharge his duty as a member of 
the select committee which reported the bill. With respect 
to the amendments he proposed he had only to say that 
he was not tenacious of the details of the bill, provided 
the house did not undertake to play Hamlet with Hamlet 
out. If the main object of the bill — the relief of the City of 
New York, and indirectly the relief of the whole state — were 
preserved, then his object would have been accomplished. 

* In obtaining the materials for this portion of his life, I am much indebted to 
the courtesies of the Librarian of the Young Men's Association, of Buffalo, in 
furnishing me with the files of the Albany Argus, Buffalo Republican, and other 
papers and documents ; and to several gentlemen who were members during the 
session. 



George P. Barker. 33 

" His friend from St. Lawrence (Mr. King) proposed to 
strike out this third section. He knew that gentleman too 
well to distrust his motives. He had known him too long- 
to treat with disrespect an)' suggestion of his. But in this 
instance, it had been already shown, that his proposition 
went to destroy the vital principle of the bill, and that the 
alternative which he suggested would not meet the emer- 
gency. As to the objection of the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Cowdrey), that we were giving more, as he believed, 
than the case required, he appealed to the delegation from 
that city to say whether they knew or could know the extent 
of the wants of the metropolis, under this calamity? The 
records of the past furnished no precedent to guide us in 
the estimate ; but all knew that it required more to raise 
than to sustain ; that as the speaker had well said, this 
credit was a matter of faith, and that if we acted at all 
we must act in that bold and decided manner which could 
alone set this matter entirely at rest. And did gentlemen 
think to avoid responsibility there ? Let such remember 
that there was a sin of omission as great and more unpar- 
donable than the sin of commission. If the house hesitated 
at this measure of relief, he begged leave to remind them 
that it would be quite as censurable and more unpardonable 
than if from the best feelings of the heart they should go 
too far. 

" He asked those who presumed to estimate — for no one 
would presume to measure the extent of the calamity which 
had befallen the City of New York — how they could judge 
of the wants of that city in all their aspects and varieties, 
except from the representations before the house ? Those 
representations came from a body of citizens, to whose 
intelligence and high character he desired there to bear his 
testimony, and whose conduct evinced throughout all their 
intercourse with the committee of the house, a scrupulous 
desire to ask nothing which the occasion did not absolutel)- 



34 Biographies and yournalisvi. 

demand. With respect to the amount of rehef, the house 
had no guide but that furnished by the committee of citizens, 
and the only alternative presented was to act, if we acted 
at all, with the magnanimity and liberality which the 
occasion seemed to call at the hands of the legislature. 
And at all events, so to act that we might not hereafter be 
reproached with having been guided by a contracted spirit. 

" As to the preference expressed for a permanent increase of 
banking capital, although not opposed to that course on tl^e 
principle advanced by one of the gentlemen from New York 
(Mr. Cutting), although he came there with no religious, 
moral or legal scruples against banks, more than anything 
else ; yet he had not that ethical lens which some gentlemen 
seemed to have, which enabled them to discuss the difference 
in point of principle between a permanent and temporary 
increase of banking capital, and by which others affected to 
discover their right as legislators to disregard the real wants 
of one section of the state. He could vote as freely and 
cheerfully for a bank, provided the public interest did not 
conflict with it, as he would vote for the erection of a bridge. 

" He was aware that perhaps something had been said in 
the course of this discussion, which might be thought 
extraneous, considering the subject in debate ; but he trusted 
he might be indulged — and after the able remarks of the 
speaker he did not feel justified in detaining the house much 
longer, with a few remarks with reference to the matters 
to which their attention had been called. He asked the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Cutting), and in a spirit of 
kindness, where he founded his opposition to banks in cases 
where banks were required ? Was it because the system 
adopted by this state had anything peculiar in its features 
to excite distrust? Had not that system withstood the 
attacks of its enemies and the more dangerous sort of support 
— the faint praise of its friends ? And what would be the 
effect of a contracted, artificial, unnatural repugnance to an 



George P. Barker. 35 

extension of the banking capital of New York, whilst foreign 
states were holding out more fruitful fields of speculation, 
and when men of capital were already driven by the paucity 
of banking facilities in their own state, to seek investments 
elsewhere? The effect must be, in the end, to render us 
dependent on foreign banks, and to drive from this state a 
vast amount of capital, actually required here, and to place 
it where it would be exempt from taxation. 

" One word in reply to the gentleman from Ulster 
(Mr. Romeyn), for whom he entertained certainly no feeling 
of unkindness or disrespect. He felt constrained to ask that 
gentleman, whether, in his denunciations of all appeals to 
the passions and feelings of members, he had not himself 
made a direct appeal to the passions and jealousies of that 
house, when he traveled out of his way to warn the com- 
mittee that after New York had obtained the facilities 
contemplated by this bill, the New York delegation might 
turn round upon the country and say that enough had been 
already granted and that they would grant no more. For 
himself, he had only to say to that gentleman, and to the 
New York delegation, that although the humble portion of 
the state which he in part represented had as anxious an 
eye to the action of that legislature as any other section, 
and that although there are all that he had or hoped to have 
was centered — yet that even could he know that the New 
York delegation would oppose every application from his con- 
stituents — still he begf^d leave to tell them that the)' had 
nothing to fear from him, and for that reason, and that he 
should discharge his duty regardless of the consequences. He 
appealed to the gentleman from Ulster to say whether when 
he took his oath before that table to do his duty as a legis- 
lator, he swore that he would do it, provided the New York 
delegation did theirs also? If the representatives from New 
York should oppose every object in which he might be inter- 
ested he could find no relief in that circumstance from the 



o 



6 Biographies and yoiwnalisvi. 



obligation resting" on him to do his duty, not merely as a 
representative of a single section, but of the whole state. 
His constituents did not send him there to play a game of 
rush for legislative favors, at the expense of New York and 
the integrity of the house ; believing that the legislature 
would give them all that their situation required without a 
resort to such means. If he were to assume to serve them by 
pitting himself against a particular section of the state, sup- 
posed to be unfriendly to his projects, his constituents woul^' 
be misrepresented there. He could not enter upon such a 
course. 

" The gentleman from Ulster, as he said, had brought to 
this question the experience of forty and three years, and a 
mind disciplined by professional studies. He (Mr. B.) left it to 
the house to say, judging from the gentleman's matter (for he 
would not speak of his manner), whether, in the period of 
these forty and three years, the fire and ardor of his youth 
were quite extinguished. For no man, he presumed, on that 
floor would have imagined, but for the gentleman's explanation 
of his remarks, that when he tinkered the heavens into brass 
and the earth into iron he ir^tended to allude to the western 
deluge. If it would relieve the gent's illustration in the least, 
he would tell him that on the spot they did not think it much 
of a shower after all. Nor need he be alarmed for the west on 
that score, for it could not well be supposed that the question 
now before the house, or any other act of legislation, could 
affect the season alluded to, especially as that season had 
passed. When that case should come up with a view to relief, 
then, perhaps, the figures of the gentleman might be in good 
taste ; but here they could hardly be considered applicable. 
He agreed with the speaker that the effect of this bill was not 
confined to the City of New York. He did not ask the rep- 
resentatives of that city to concede anything in return. He 
stood there as the representative of his immediate constituents, 
it was true, and he considered it fortunate for them that they 



George P. Barker. 



&> 



believed their interests, as well as those of the state, to be 
identified too intimately with the prosperity of New York to 
be induced to go into the suicidal policy of cutting off the 
body to retain the limbs. As the gentleman from Ulster was 
at home on classic ground he begged leave to call to his recol- 
lection, in illustration of his course on this bill, the old Roman 
story where the limbs entered into a conspiracy that they 
would no longer support the sluggish belly, and to ask him 
whether his attempts to excite a country feeling against the 
city would not, if he found a response there, prove equally 
absurd and destructive to the interests of the whole? But he 
would not detain the committee longer at that late hour; nor 
did he believe it to be necessary, were it in his power, to say 
an)'thing in aid of the appeals which had already been made 
to the house. But he would ask members from every section 
of the state to bury under a common regard for the common 
good all sectional or personal feelings, and to come forward 
and discharge their duty independently, and under the respon- 
sibilities which they owed to themselves, their constituents 
and the whole state." 

The Argus, of the sixth of February, says: 

" The material New York relief bill was finally passed yes- 
terday, and has become a law. The assembly concurred in the 
amendments of the senate chiefly (striking out the second 
section) by a vote of loi to 5. The bill, among other pro- 
visions, authorizes the banks in the City of New York to loan 
for two years a sum equal to one-half of their capitals respect- 
ively, and to discount upon it as capital to the amount of once 
and a half of the sum borrowed." 

In order to explain somewhat the remarks of Mr. Barker 
on the bill to " Expedite the Construction of a Railroad from 
New York to Lake Erie," I have copied as follows, from the 
second volume of Mr. Hammond's political history: 

" On the subject of internal improvements Gov. Marcy 
stated in his annual message that the general fund was entirely 



38 Biographies ami jfourtiaiisin. 

exhausted ; that the Chenango Canal would cost, instead of 
one million, as had been represented, about two millions of 
dollars, and that the enlargement of the Erie Canal would 
cost at least twelve millions of dollars, and that he protested 
against pledging the state for any further works of internal 
improvement, unless the legislature would provide some spe- 
cific means for the payment of the interest of the money 
which would be required to be borrowed. In the face of these 
facts and this solemn warning the legislature passed laws 
during this session for loaning to the New York & Erie Rail- 
road Company $3,000,000, and for constructing the Black 
River and Genesee Valley Canals. To these measures the 
majority in the legislature were goaded on by the whig news- 
papers and politicians, who charged them with being governed 
by narrow views and a secret hostility to all internal improve- 
ments. Against the assumption of these tremendous liabilities 
Col. Young, Mr. D. Spraker, and a few other senators, raised 
their voices, and some feeble efforts were made in the assembly 
to arrest the progress of these measures, but their exertions 
were wholly'ineffectual." 

The following are Mr. Barker's remarks in the assembly 
on the twentieth of February, on an appeal from the decision 
of the chair, on the final passage of the bill to expedite the 
construction of a railroad from New York to Lake Erie : 

'' He said he felt called upon to explain a remark of his in 
favor of laying this question on the table, and especially as it 
had been said that this subject had been long before the 
house, and that every gentleman should have been long pre- 
pared to act upon it. If he had erred in not having brought 
to this subject the examination which was due to it, the 
responsibility he was aware rested on him ; but if he had 
erred it was from misrepresentation as to the proper course 
to be adopted to bring the question before the house. He had 
supposed that the proper course was to refer it to the standing 
committee, appointed with reference to their qualifications, to 



I 



George P. Barker. 39 

examine these questions, and he had expected to have been 
guided by the light which that committee would throw upon 
the subject. He assured the gentleman that he had no earth!}' 
object in calling for an examination, but to come to an honest 
conclusion ; and although others might be fully satisfied in 
their own minds on the subject, he could only say that they 
were more fortunate than he. But opinions were sometimes 
founded on a partial as well as a thorough examination of a 
subject, and long continued reflection sometimes led to 
doubts w^iere none were entertained before. He knew not 
what examination those who spoke with so much confidence 
had brought to this subject, nor was it to be supposed that, 
acting as they did there under a heavy responsibility, they had 
expressed a mere off-hand opinion. He could only say to such 
that he acted on his own responsibility there; and although, as 
the gentleman from Ulster (Mr. Romeyn) had said, a precedent 
of this kind might lose us the $800,000 loan to the Hudson 
& Delaware Canal Cpmpany, for one, he had rather lose eight 
hundred millions than to commit an error on a grave constitu- 
tional question like this. Such arguments had no influence on 
him. He was to act in this case on the lights of his own judg- 
ment, and independently of the views, however confidently 
expressed, of others. What then was the point? It was true, 
as stated by the gentleman from Oswego (though he stated 
the proposition in a sense perhaps too much restricted), tiiat a 
corporation was a creature of the statute — that it had no powers 
except such as it derived from the statute. It might be said to 
live and move and have its being by statute. But he had under- 
stood that a corporation had all the powers necessary to a full 
enjoyment of the authority granted. Now his difficulty as to 
the power of corporation to a mortgage was this: It was not 
the design of the legislature, or of the corporation, that it 
should mortgage or convey its real estate. The corporation 
was to make the road, and its powers to raise money for that 
purpose were prescribed by its charter. It was to be built by 



40 Biographies and yournalism. 

the stock subscribed. It never entered into the heart or 
minds, he trusted, of this corporation that they were to apply 
for a loan on giving a mortgage. The charter contemplated 
no such thing. Now here it was proposed that they should 
loan money and give a mortgage, when the original act of 
incorporation did not contemplate that the road should be 
built in that way. However confident others might be on this 
subject, he appealed to every professional man whose attention 
had been drawn to this subject, to say whether there was any 
one subject of judicial investigation where there was less har- 
mony of decision — perhaps he should say where decisions of 
courts in this country and in Europe were more at war — than 
on this subject. There was no analogy between the corpora- 
tions themselves, and no arguments could be drawn from the 
one which could be applicable here. Nor was it to his mind a 
perfect answer to the position taken here, to say that the bill 
merely granted the power to borrow — that it contemplated 
nothing conventional — that the lien was created by the opera- 
tion of the law. He asked the gentleman who urged this 
argument to point out the distinction (for it was too subtle for 
him) between giving the power to execute and sign a bond and 
mortgage, and creating a conditional lien by the act itself. 
Were not the powers of the corporation in effect extended just 
as much in one case as in the other? If not, he had not fully 
appreciated the argument. As to this being a public act, 
because the school fund was to be increased by it, he did not 
think the argument of that conclusive kind that it had been 
claimed to be ; for it was to be supposed that every act of 
incorporation was intended to benefit indirectly the whole 
state. Still he would not be understood to speak with confi- 
dence on the question before the house. He had no right to 
be confident, and he was not ashamed to own that, without 
more reflection, he could not feel entirely free from doubt. It 
might well be that the friends of the bill felt entirely clear 
upon the subject, but he asked whether in a case involving so 



George P. Barker. 41 

much doubt, and when it was expected as it was here, that the 
question would go to the appropriate committee, it was extraor- 
dinary that many should be unprepared to vote. For himself 
he was sure that the question was not pressed upon the house 
with a view to embarrass the bill. If he knew himself, he was 
willing that the bill should pass, if it could pass constitution- 
ally, and he should in that case say amen to it as heartily as 
any man on that floor. All he wished was to give an honest 
and intelligent vote on the question." 
4 



42 Biog7'apliics and yournalism. 



CHAPTER IV. 

His Legislative Career Continued. 

Connected with the legislation of 1836, it may be well 
here to note, that opposition to banking or other monopolies 
was not then, as since to some extent it has been made, an 
article in the creed of the democratic party in this state. On 
the contrary, after the adoption by the legislature of the safety- 
fund system, under the recommendation of Mr. Van Buren, 
during the short time he was governor, the protection and 
extension of that system was regarded generally as an impor- 
tant duty of the democratic party, and the multiplication of 
bank charters occupied a large portion of the time of the 
legislature, and the distribution of the stock under those 
charters was regarded as a legitimate means of extending 
party influence and of rewarding party services. 

Most of the prominent members of the party availed 
themselves of their position of influence to secure, directly 
or indirectly, a share of the spoils, either in the shape of 
bank stock or bank offices, and this practice had extended so 
far, that it is believed that of the prominent members of the 
party at this time, either in the legislature or out of it, very 
few could be named who were not largely interested in banks. 
Even Col. Young, whose general integrity could not be 
doubted, and whose zeal against chartered monopolies has 
since been conspicuous, at this time had a large portion of 
his fortune invested in the stock of the safety-fund banks. 
Of course the organs of the party were ready to denounce as 
incendiary and disorganizing the movements now beginning 
to be made by a portion of the democratic party in the City 
of New York against a then very apparent bank influence. 



{ 



George P. Barker. 43 

This section of the party, then opprobriously denominated 
loco foco, small as it was, numerically, embraced, however, 
several men of distinguished ability and courage, and sustained 
by the powerful pen of the late William Leggett, succeeded 
in making itself heard and felt in the legislative hall at this 
session. It was the opposition of this party to the further 
extension of banks that Mr. Barker had to encounter in 
the prosecution of his favorite measure, and in his speech, 
extracts from which now follow, if all his positions do not 
accord with what afterwards came to be recognized as sound 
democratic principles, it must be borne in mind that they 
were the prevailing doctrines of the democratic party of 
that day. 

In Assembly, Tuesday, April 19th, Mr. Barker, after some 
remarks in opposition to the bill to repeal parts of the 
restraining act — directed not against the measure itself, except 
so far as it was urged as a substitute for, or as an antagonist 
to, the safety-fund system^ — went on to say: — \_Argiis.'\ 

" There is still another point on which I wish to say a few 
words by way of appeal to western members. And on that 
head let me not be misunderstood. I don't appeal to them 
because I suppose they have any interests distinct from the 
general interests. I appeal to them because they know and 
feel our identity of interest, and because they can appreciate 
what I have to say. And now I ask every western member, 
satisfied as I know every western man must be, of the wants 
and demands of the people of the west in reference to 
banking capital, whether he feels justified in attempting to 
evade these demands, under the plea that to gratify them 
would be but to minister to the interests of a few individuals ? 
Let me ask whether the sailor on our lakes don't know the 
difference between fifteen dollars and eighteen dollars a 
month — whether the farmer does not know the difference 
between six and seven shillings a bushel for his wheat — 
whether the laborer does not know the difference between 



44 Biogiapkics and youriialisin. 

four and six shillings a day? This is a matter which the 
people distinctly understand, and the man who believes that 
the cry for more banks emanates from the aristocrac}', or 
from any other source than the back-bone of that section of 
the state, is mistaken. 

" He knows not Western New York, and however honest 
men may be in supposing that the great body of the people 
are crying out against banks, they forget the wide distinction 
which exists between the feeling of indignation everywhere 
raised against an institution that was at war with our own, 
and to ward off whose attacks the strong arm of state power 
was put in requisition — and the safety-fund banks of this 
state. They mistake the intelligence of the people, when 
they undertake to identify- the one with the other. They 
know better, and I will say that the man who strikes a blow 
at the safety-fund system of this state, touches the democracy 
of this state where they feel most. Yes, sir, were I called on 
now (as I have been) to say what that man had done who 
originated that system, the best answer I could make would 
be to tell the inquirer to open his pocket-book and see 
whether he had a safety-fund note in it. You mistake if you 
suppose that this is not a favorite system, and the man who 
has taken up a different impression, has derived his opinions 
from the mob, and not from the people. And will gentlemen 
prefer to take for their guide on this subject the opinions of 
those who are here to-day and there to-morrow, or the views 
of those on whose intelligence are suspended the destinies of 
our country? 

" The man who raises his hand against the safet)--fund 
system, permit me to say, does it on a responsibility that I 
do not envy. I will say further that even if the father of 
that system, could we suppose a thing so unnatural (which I 
cannot), or he who, sustained by what is called the six-million 
mortgage, should attempt to crush it, his arm would perish 
in the effort. The people of this state cannot be trifled with. 



George P. Barker. 45 

No man can lend his countenance to a system until the people 
have experienced its benefits, and then withdraw it at his 
pleasure, and at the same time recline on the reputation of 
having created it. I believe I speak the feelings of the 
democracy, and I may include also men of all parties, when 
I say that the people will never submit to that policy. And 
on this point, I say no more than I intend ; I mean to be so 
distinctly understood. 

" I regret that, owing to indisposition. I cannot now pursue 
this subject as far as I intended ; but probably, during the 
course of this discussion, I shall have another opportunity 
to extend my views. But I do say here — and I address 
myself again to western men — that however we may differ in 
political sentiments, there is an interest paramount to that— 
and that is the duty we owe to Western New York ; a duty 
growing out of the state of the currency, and the wants of 
the business community in that section — to which everything 
else must bow. Such as choose to sacrifice the interests of 
the west, either to views of policy or expediency, must take 
the responsibility upon themselves. I wash my hands of it, 
here and before my constituents. And I will say for one 
(and I hope the majority will sustain me), that I never will 
vote for an adjournment of this house (until another body 
better able to express the feelings of my constituents shall 
take our places) until banking facilities are extended to the 
west, or every bank charter in the state is repealed. I mean 
all that, too, Mr. Chairman." 

In Assembly, Wednesday, April 20th, P. M. The committee 
of the whole, Mr. R. L. Smith in the chair, had risen and 
reported on Mr. Yates' Bill (in addition to Mr. Cutting's), and 
refused to rise and report on the latter. The question was on 
Mr. Wilkison's motion to strike out the enacting clause, and 
Mr. Barker and Mr. Marvin had spoken in opposition to 
the motion. 



46 Biographies and yoiirnalisjji. 

Mr. Barker addressed the committee as follows: 
" Mr. Chairman — As I have once had the floor on this sub- 
ject, I will not detain the committee with any remarks, except 
such as seem to be called for as a matter of justice to myself, 
and in reply to arguments addressed to me personally. The 
arguments urged in relation to the subject generally I leave 
for the present, at least, to other members of the committee 
to answer, confining myself entirely to certain allusions which 
have been thrown out in the course of this debate, connected 
with me and my course in relation to this bill, to which I feel 
called upon to reply. And in doing this I would premise by 
saying to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Cutting) that 
the sentiments of kindness which he has expressed towards 
me personally, find in my heart a perfect reciprocity of feeling ; 
but that at the same time, while I stand up here for my con- 
stituents, he, as he conceives, acts for his own, and that our 
course in reference to this bill is, in consequence, fated to be 
different. I vote as I believe the interests of my constituents 
demand at my hands, and I am not at liberty to compromise 
them for any feeling of friendship which I may entertain for 
any individual. Still, I will say to the gentleman, that were 
1 to be governed in this matter only by personal predilections, 
which are my own property and at my own disposal, and that 
were it possible for me to be seduced by a man, under the 
circumstances in which I am placed, I would, without hesita 
tion, choose him as the seducer. 

"As to the remarks I have made in justification of my course 
as regards this bill, they are before the committee. They are 
satisfactory to my own mind, and that matter I must justify 
before my constituents. I propose now, therefore, to confine 
myself as I promised to the allusions made by the gentleman 
from New York (Mr. Cutting) to myself, and to the arguments 
adduced by him in reply to what fell from mc )'esterday. I 
appeal to the gentleman himself to say whether he treated my 
remarks with perfect fairness when he said the only argument 



George P. Barker. 47 

I had urged was in favor of the Buffalo Bank? The course of 
my argument (if that can be called argument which was 
designed to justify m}^ own mind) was to charge and prove 
upon the gentleman from New York, in the introduction of his 
bill, hostility to the increase of all banking facilities. I also 
said and attempted to prove that those who advocated this 
measure, and who would impose this injunction, were at war 
with our banking system — that this compound monopoly which 
he and they would introduce, would never be submitted to by 
the people of this state — and I asked the gentleman whether 
he could furnish a single argument against the increase of 
banking capital which did not go to the system itself. That 
question the gentleman has not yet answered. 

" The gentleman saw fit in the course of his remarks to say, 
in reference to the withdrawal of the United States branch 
bank, that he had understood that in 1824 a bank of $400,000 
capital was granted to Buffalo, having in view the withdrawal 
of that very branch bank. Now, I ask the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Cutting), the gentleman who called for argu- 
ment but gave none — whether from his need of it or otherwise 
is not for me to say — conceding the fact that $400,000 was 
granted to Buffalo in 1824, by way of banking facilities, because 
the branch bank was to be withdrawn, whether that act gave 
any more than $400,000 to Buffalo ? No matter what the 
inducements were for the increase of banking facilities in 
Buffalo, did it make more than $400,000 ? Did it do more 
than supply the vacuum occasioned by the withdrawal, and 
did it necessarily dispense with any further extension of bank- 
ing facilities to that city for all time to come ? On this point, 
also, I shall await a reply from the gentleman from New York. 

" The gentleman also remarked, in reference to the uncurrent 
money afloat in Buffalo, that it was a very easy matter to 
reduce that circulation to specie. Now, I can say that, how- 
ever applicable the remark may be to the City of New York, 
it evinces that the eentleman's knowledge of the business of 



48 Biographies and yo2Lrnalism. 

Western New York is extremely limited. The business men 
of Buffalo are compelled to go into other states and, almost on 
their knees, beg of foreign institutions the use of their paper, 
on condition that they keep it in circulation. Yes, sir ; to 
foreign corporations they are compelled to bow. And why? 
Because the wisdom of their own legislature refuses to minister 
to their necessities. Why, sir, the business man who should 
undertake to bu}^ up this paper, for the purpose of returning it 
to its source, would find himself, among business men, an out- 
law — a traitor to the interests of his brethren in commercial 
transactions. 

" And here I must treat the gentleman as a lawyer. I 
said his argument was adverse to the increase of banking 
facilities. I plead to his declaration. If I traversed or 
departed in my plea, as a lawyer he should have demurred. 
But he saw fit to reply, and on fair legal principles his argument 
is confessed to have been adverse to the increase of banking- 
facilities. The gentleman also asked — at the same time sa)-ing 
that he was not opposed to the banking system — that his bill 
was not adverse to it — why it was that Buffalo and other por- 
tions of tlie state were now writhing under this policy? Still, 
that was no attack on the system? Sir, it was not the fault of 
the system itself, but the evil the gentleman alludes to is the 
result of the want of the extension of the system to meet the 
constantly increasing demand for banking facilities. As well 
might you say that because a barrel of pork thrown in among 
a hungry multitude would be productive of serious conse- 
quences, from the inadequacy of the supply, that therefore the 
pork itself is good for nothing. The difficulty is that the 
system has not been extended sufficiently at the west ; and 
because it has not been extended to such a degree as to meet 
the absolute necessities of that section, is that any evidence 
that the system itself is a bad one ? I, for one, cannot see 
liow the conclusion follows. 

" There is another portion of the gentleman's remarks which 



I 



George P. Barker. 49 

I intended to reply to immediately. The gentleman said, in 
answer to my appeal to the house on behalf of the west, that 
he had shown himself a greater friend to the west than myself. 
He points to his vote for the Rochester and Olean Canal. He 
points, not to his vote, but to his generosity towards the 
Southern Railroad Company. Let us examine this subject. 
And first I have to say to the gentleman, that notwithstand- 
ing all the feelings of partiality I may have for those deeply 
interested in the Olean Canal, and although I do not suppose 
that my efforts would have altered the determination of the 
house, in reference to that work (and with the result I am 
content), yet had I been able to have taken the floor at the 
time, I should have brought all the capacity which God has 
given me to bear in opposition to that bill, and let the respon- 
sibilit}' of that course and of this avowal rest on me and upon 
us in the west. But look at the generosity of the gentleman 
in reference to that bill. The common council of his own city 
instructed him to vote for it. The resolutions of that bod)' 
were spread upon our tables, pointing out the advantages 
which would result to the City of New York, from the con- 
struction of the work; and it was even proclaimed on this 
floor that when that canal shall have been completed, 
Buffalo would no longer be the ' Queen of the West ! ' And 
yet the gentleman supposes that I was recreant to the west 
when I gave my vote against that bill, and speaks of it as a 
merit that he has obe}'ed the instructions of his common 
council ! 

" As to the southern railroad, my course is also before the 
house and before my constituents ; and with them I am con- 
tent to let it rest. With respect to the gentleman's own 
course, I should have never inquired into it had it not been 
put forward here as constituting a peculiar claim upon western 
feeling, on the part of the gentleman from New York. Hav- 
ing been thus paraded here, I ma}" be permitted to remark- 
that if it be true (as I have no reason to doubt it is) that he 



50 Biographies and yournalism. 

has paid $iO,ooo for stock in that raih'oad, it is equally true 
that that very railroad was eloquently advocated by a brother 
colleague of his on this floor, as a measure calculated to bring 
the whole western trade, without fear of competition, to the 
City of New York. Did the gentleman, let me ask, look 
beyond New York for a motive to that subscription ? That is 
all I have to say on that head ; for I will not say that the 
gentleman has a large fortune invested there in real estate. 
To suppose that consideration had any influence would be to 
impute selfishness to the gentleman, and that I can nev^ 
impute to him. 

" There is another part of the gentleman's (Mr. Cutting's) 
argument, if it may be called argument, that I regret to 
refer to ; and let it be understood that if I talk with plain- 
ness it is not because anything I have said has left a sting 
here. I shall treat this as a matter between friend and 
friend, who stand, in their official capacities, upon an equal 
footing on this floor. The remark of mine to which the 
gentleman alluded, the conmiittee will recollect, I prefaced 
with another, that I was about to say no more than I 
meant, and I now add that I meant no more than I said. I 
make that amendment to it. What was the remark I made 
that called out from the prime minister (as he would appear to 
be) of the administration, the sentence of excommunication? 
I said in relation to the safety-fund system, that it had come 
to be a favorite with the democracy of this state. That 
although it owed its origin to the favorite son of this state, it 
had not commended itself to their regard on that account 
alone, but that it had been tested by experience, and triumph- 
antly tested. And I said that should that man, and I say so 
still, deep as may be the channels he has worn to the affections 
of the people of this state — should that man, I repeat, array 
himself against the democracy, as to a course of polic}' which 
they have at heart— and of this they will judge — and I say 
still, th(High without any apprehensions that matters will ever 



George P. Bai^ker. 51 

come to that pass, that the democracy will say to that man, 
' Thy glory has departed.' I take back nothing on that 
subject. 

" Sir, let us see whether there be anything in this that would 
bring me under the ban of the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Cutting). Let me ask that gentleman if even that man 
who has been well said to have filled ' the measure of his 
country's glory,' if that same arm which was stretched out at 
New Orleans in defense of his country should now be raised 
against that country, if that same voice which was once heard 
against a powerful monopoly, then preying on the vital inter- 
ests of the countr)', should now be heard in its support, let me 
ask the gentleman what would be the verdict of the people 
of this state and of the Union ? All I meant to say, and I 
repeat it, was that that man who supposes that he can array 
himself against the intelligence of the democrac}^ of this state 
or of the Union calculates too much on his strength. I said, 
and I say it again, that I acknowledge no power here that is 
paramount to the will of my constituents ; and if the gentle- 
man argues from this that I am about to leave the party, and 
undertakes to say that I can leave the party, I have to repl)', 
that until I leave the people " 

Mr. Cutting : " Does the gentleman attribute such remarks 
to me ? " 

Mr. Barker: "I understood the gentleman to say some- 
thing like this — ' Is it to be declared that because a bank can't 
be granted I leave the party ? ' " 

Mr. Cutting: " My language was this — 'that because a bank 
can't be granted I leave those I have heretofore supported?'" 

Mr. Barker: "I say if the people want capital— if the 
democracy demand it — the representative assumes upon him- 
self too much who undertakes to resist it, for that voice is 
omnipotent and will always be heard. So far the gentleman 
understands me. But I say further, that if we could suppose 
anything so improbable as that such motives or designs could 



52 Biographies and yournalis^n. 

be charged upon either of the men I have alkided to, which I 
utterly deny, I do say as an abstract truth, and I care not 
where it touches, that the man who arrays himself against the 
wishes of the great body of the people will soon receive his 
verdict at their hands. Does the gentleman doubt it ? Where 
now is he of Delaware, who once held the democracy of this 
state, as it were, in the hollow of his hand ? By the betrayal 
and desertion of the principles of the democracy even that 
man has forfeited their confidence and is forgotten. Where, 
now is the promising young man who once represented the 
democracy of the County of Orange ? He, too, has received 
his verdict. And why? Because he arrayed himself against 
the wishes of the people, and no man can stand against that 
power. 

"The gentleman also remarked that we (the applicants for 
banks) were standing here like Swiss soldiers, asking pay for 
services. The proposition was not stated affirmatively, to be 
sure, but in the form of an interrogatory, and the remark was 
not less pointed for that reason. Now I cannot accord to the 
gentleman even the merit of originality in that remark. I 
have heard it before. It is like a story thrice told in Western 
New York. It is, however, so far original with the gentleman 
that I have always been accustomed to hear it from those 
holding different political principles from those the gentleman 
himself professes. It is not a new song to me. But I have to 
say to the gentleman that I know not under what pow er of 
attorney he assumes to ask whether I am prepared b}' adhering 
to the wishes of my constituents, to prove recreant to my 
faith. I can say that I regard no warrant of attorney, unless 
it be given by the democracy of Erie, and I invite the gentle- 
man, if lie wishes to read me out, or, as the phrase is, to 
Vanduzer me, for the remark I made, to lay the venue in the 
County of Erie, and try the issue before my constituents. 
That is the only tribunal to which I submit. 

" I have a few words more to say to the gentleman from 



George P. Barker. 53 

New York, and but a few. I ask him with what grace he calls 
me to account, as recreant to my faith, in advocating the 
extension of banking facilities? By how large a majority of 
those who claim to be democratic members of this House is 
he sustained here, who have stood shoulder to shoulder with 
him in his proposition to repeal the restraining act ? I wish 
no answer. I mean no disrespect to those who differ with me 
in politics, nor should I have introduced the topic on this floor ; 
but it having been introduced I am free to speak of it. I 
wear no screen before my breast, every portal of it is open to 
the gentleman, and if he pleases he can enter. If I have 
erred the gentleman shall not be put to the trouble of taking 
testimony on the subject. I will argue the question with him 
on bill and answer. If any expression I have used, if any 
doctrine I have advanced, be heterodox, I am easy of convic- 
tion, for I will furnish on short notice, and at any time, the 
evidence desired. 

" I say, therefore, in conclusion, to the gentleman from New 
York (and my object in rising now was merely to make myself 
understood on this point), that with a full knowledge of all 
the responsibility of the declaration, I shall go home to my 
constituents as fearlessly as he will to his, and with the assur- 
ance that I have not disobeyed the instructions given by more 
than three-fourths of the committee which nominated me." 

The Argus, of May 26, 1836, sums up the session as follows: 

" The legislature of this state adjourned this day at twelve 
o'clock. The session has been one of longer duration, and 
more arduous, than any which has ever preceded it. It 
extended to 143 days. The number of acts passed is 536 — a 
far greater number than has ever been passed at any previous 
session. Among the laws are comparatively few of a public 
nature. Of these, the apportionment bill, under the new cen- 
sus, may be said to have excited as much interest and to have 
produced as much discussion as any other. 

" Equal in interest and importance were the bills for internal 



54 Biographies and yoiirnalisni. 

improvement. Among these are the Black River Canal and 
feeders, and the Genesee Valley Canal, and the bill to expedite 
the construction of the New York and Erie Railroad. The 
two former involve an estimated expenditure of about three 
millions of dollars, and the latter the loan of the credit of the 
state, in the progress and at the completion of the work, to 
the same amount. 

" The local acts of incorporation for purposes of internal 
improvement extended to no less than forty-two railroad com- 
panies, with an immense aggregate capital. 

"The question of the incorporation of banks was as usual 
an engrossing one. The legislative action on this subject 
resulted in grants for charters of twelve new banks, and an 
increase of the capitals of two existing banks ; making an 
aggregate addition to the banking capital of the state five 
millions six hundred and seventy thousand. 

" The calamitous fire in the City of New York — the cause 
of much legislation early in the session — produced also a 
species of incorporation heretofore but little known in this 
state. We allude to the mutual insurance companies. Of 
these there were twenty-six acts passed during the session." 



George P. Barker. 55 



CHAPTER V. 

Again Nominated for Congress — His Law Partnerships — His Military Career — 
Contest for Mayor — Election of 1840 — Assembly of 1S42 — Democratic Legis- 
lative Caucus — Appointed Attorney-General — Correspondence. 

Mr. Barker, after the adjournment of the legislature, re- 
turned to Buffalo, and embarked with zeal once more in his 
professional business. In the fall of 1836, he was put in 
nomination for congress by the democratic party. He de- 
clined the nomination, however, for private reasons, but he 
sustained Mr. Van Buren and the democratic ticket with vigor. 
In 1837, when Mr. Van Buren's special message was promul- 
gated, he was among the first to give in his cordial support to 
the statesmanlike views and the bold and vital measures 
advanced in that admirable document. Though many from 
whom better things were expected, receded at once from the 
party — men who had been cherished and made by its bounty 
— he stood up amid the general defection which surrounded 
him, and fearlessly and warmly supported the doctrines so 
patriotically presented. 

In April, 1837, Mr. Barker formed a partnership with Seth 
E. Sill and Seth C. Hawley, Esqs., under the firm of Barker, 
Hawley and Sill. This firm continued till November, 1839, 
when Mr. Hawley went out, and the firm went on as Barker 
and Sill, until Mr. Barker was elected attorney-general in 
February, 1842. The business transacted by this firm was 
very great, as all of the gentlemen connected with it possessed 
distinguished legal attainments. All of the gentlemen who 
have at any time been connected with Mr. Barker as part- 
ners, speak in the highest terms of their deceased friend, and 
warmly commend his virtues and talent. 



56 BiogJ'apJiics and yoiirnalis))i. 

In September, 1838, he was chosen a delegate from the 
County of Erie to the Democratic Young Men's Convention at 
Utica. This convention wr.s one of the most numerous, 
talented and enthusiastic bodies that had ever assembled in 
the state. Many there present had been distinguished for 
their talents and the public stations they had filled ; and in 
comparison with whom Mr. Barker was little known ; the 
West, however, whose ardent friend and vigilant supporter he 
had always been, knew and appreciated his merit and abilities, 
and with one voice presented him as the one most worthy to 
perform the duties of presiding officer. He was accordingly 
chosen to preside over this noble representation of the junior 
democracy. Those who listened to that burst of true elo- 
quence with which, on assuming the duties of the station, he 
electrified that vast assemblage, and who witnessed the dignity 
and impartiality with which he presided, will look back upon 
the scene as one of the most gratifying of their lives. This 
convention dissolved, but each member carried away with him 
admiration for the abilities of its presiding officer, and regard 
for his personal qualities. 

I shall now allude to the military career of Mr. BARKER. 
By the records in the adjutant-general's office, it appears that 
on January 31, 1838, orders were issued, organizing five com- 
panies of light infantry, under command of Captain John J. 
Fay, George P. Barker, etc., and commissions were issued to 
the officers of the companies. They were organized into a 
regiment called the loth regiment of light infantry, and at- 
tached to the 8th brigade of artillery. On February 12, 1838, 
an election was held for field officers, and Mr. Barker was 
elected major. On the 28th of February, of the same year, 
general orders were issued changing the organization of the 
regiment to artillery, and commissions were issued to the field 
officers of the 37th regiment of artillery. On the 14th of 
August, 1838, he was elected lieutenant-colonel of that regi- 
ment, and commissioned as such September iith. In June, 



George P. Barker. 57 

1839, he was elected brigadier-general of the 8th brigade of 
artillery, in the place of General Nelson Ra.idall, promoted. 
At this election several officers superior in rank were competi- 
tors, yet so great was his popularity, that he received a large 
majority of the votes cast. He made a splendid review officer. 
Indeed, his appearance on horseback was commanding and 
quite dashy. He continued to hold the office of brigadier- 
general until his appointment as attorney-general. It is per- 
haps proper here to state that Mr. Barker's connection with 
the military was attributable to the Canadian troubles of 1837, 
with the history of which my readers are doubtless generally 
familiar. The burning of the Steamer Caroline, and other 
acts, and the prospect of trouble with Great Britain, had cre- 
ated a feeling of distrust as to the sufficiency of the military 
force of the city to protect the lives and property of the in- 
habitants, and hence several new companies were organized as 
before related. 

In the spring of 1840, Mr. Barker was nominated by the 
democracy of Buffalo for Mayor. It was the first election by 
the people of that officer, and perhaps increased interest was 
felt in consequence. He entered upon the canvass under 
many and great disadvantages ; — the anti-masons and whigs 
had long maintained a majority in the city, ranging from three 
to six hundred, the commercial, moneyed, and marine inter- 
ests of the city had in almost all cases been with them ; and 
this majority had, since the revulsion in the credit system, been 
confirmed, and perhaps increased by the accession of many of 
those whose ruin has been its consequence. The tide of 
speculation which flowed into the city with such rapidity and 
fullness, finally ebbed ; and many, eager to lay the blame of 
their own folly anywhere but at their own door, grasped at 
the first specious cause which offered — that happened to be 
the democratic administration of the government ; and upon 
this they laid the responsibility of their own acts, and made 
it the scape-goat for the sins of the people. Smarting under 
5 



58 Biographies and Joitriialisui. 

their losses, and actuated by the hope of bettering their con- 
dition by a change, this class regarded the administration as a 
public enemy, and its supporters as their personal foes ; their 
political became their personal feelings ; and the ordinary 
virulence and bitterness of political contests were much 
enhanced. Added to this, the opposition put in nomination 
their strongest man ; one whose residence was coeval with 
the first settlement of the country — whose acquaintance and 
connections were extensive, and whose wealth and weight 
of character added strength to their already great numerical 
majoi-ity. 

It was against such adverse influences that Mr. Barker, 
at the call of his democratic friends, entered upon the contest. 
It was, without doubt, the most sanguinary one ever known 
at our charter 'elections. The friends of each candidate 
exerted themselves to the utmost. Every influence which 
could be used was brought to bear. Few general elections 
have ever been so warmly contested. The eyes of the city 
and indeed of Western New York were centered upon the 
issue. He was defeated by ten votes as follows: Sheldon 
Thompson, Esq., 1,135; George P. Barker, 1,125. The array 
against Mr. BARKER was too strong to be resisted. His 
private character was aspersed ; his professional integrity 
impugned, and his very honesty questioned by the opposition. 
The vote he received, all things considered, was a very gratify- 
ing one. He ran at an unfortunate crisis. That train of 
events which placed General William H. Harrison in the 
presidential chair was in motion. Few men would have run 
as well under the circumstances. 

As a matter of interest to Buffalonians I here insert the 
vote cast for the several candidates for the mayoralty of our 
city since 1840 : 



George P. Barker. 59 



Year. Democratic. Whig. 

1842. George W. Clinton . 1,486, Isaac R. Harrington. . 909 

i>657, Walter Joy ^>i97 

1,389, Win. Ketchum 1,602 

1,837, Hiram Barton i)538 

1,693, Solomon G. Haven . . 2,029 

2,013, E. G. Spaulding 2,192 

^)855:' Orlando Allen i>97o 



1843. Joseph G. Masten 

1844. Oliver G. Steele . 

1845. Joseph G. Masten 

1846. Isaac Sherman . . 

1847. Isaac Sherman . . 

1848. Israel T. Hatch. . 



The election in 1841 was not contested on party grounds, 
though the democrats generally supported Mr. Harrington, 
who was elected in opposition to I. A. Blossom, Esq. 

In 1849, tl"*^ democracy were divided and ran two candidates: 

Hiram Barton, whig 2,341 

Elijah Ford, dem 1,466 

Thompson Hersee, dem 481 

In the fall of 1840, occurred the exciting contest between 
Mr. Van Buren and General Harrison for the presidency. 
Mr, Barker, it is needless to .say, gave to Mr. Van Buren his 
hearty support. He addressed meetings of the democracy 
with more than his usual force and beauty, and strove in 
every way not incompatible with honor to arrest the tide which 
was evidently setting in against his party. The Syracuse 
Democratic State Convention which nominated presidential 
electors, presented the names of Samuel Young and George 
P. Barker as candidates for electors at large. Two nobler 
standard bearers could hardly have been found in the 
democratic galaxy. 

The election resulted in the prostration for a time of the 
democratic party, and the novel spectacle was presented of a 
whig state and national administration. The brief career of 
General Harrison as president is well known. Scarce a month 
had elapsed, ere the citizens of our national capital who had 
witnessed the splendid pageant of the inaugural cavalcade, 
beheld with sincere regret all that was mortal of him conveyed 
to his long home. Grief, deep and universal, was felt through- 



6o Biographies and Journalism. 

out the Union. Orations, feeling and beautiful, were pro- 
nounced in our principal cities and towns. Funeral obsequies, 
imposing and solemn, testified in a touching manner the 
national bereavement. History seldom presents so striking 
an instance of the mutability of earthly possessions. Called 
b}' a large majority of his countrymen to fill the highest office 
known to our constitution, General Harrison was the center 
around which a great political party revolved. He was 
regarded with fond attachment by thousands and high and 
many were the expectations his election created. His greatest 
ambition was satisfied, for he sat in that chair which had been 
filled by a Washington, a Jefferson, a Jackson and a Van Buren. 
He was truly the " observed of all observers." Yet in one 
month after his assumption of the exalted duties of his station, 
he was laid in "dull, cold marble" amid a nation's tears. 

The events which succeeded are matters of history. John 
Tyler brought down upon his administration the anathemas 
of the party that elected him, and very essentially aided, by 
his general conduct, the re-establishment in the state and 
nation of democratic principles. 

Contrary to the general expectation, the November election 
in this state, in 1841, resulted in the complete and unexpected 
triumph of the democratic party. Calculating men on both 
sides may have anticipated the election of a democratic 
majority of the members of the assembly, but the senate, 
being a permanent body, and the whig majority in 1841 being 
cjuite large, few men before the election entertained the 
opinion that there would be a change of political power in that 
branch of the legislature so early as the year 1842. 

Without enumerating the causes which contributed to this 
result, it is sufficient for my purpose to notice briefly the 
events which led to the nomination and election of Mr. Barker 
as attorney- general of the state. Mr. Hammond, in his 
" Life and Times of Silas Wright," speaking of the assembly 
of 1842, says: 



Geo7*£e P. Barker. 6i 

'■'■ There was an unusual number of men of talents elected 
to the assembly at the annual election in 1841. From the 
City of New York, O'Sullivan and Townsend, and Messrs. 
McClay, Grout, Jones, McMurray, etc., added much to the 
strength of the representation from that city. Horatio Sey- 
mour, from Utica ; John A. Dix, late secretary of state, now 
United States senator from Albany ; Samuel Stetson, from 
Clinton County ; that learned and able lawyer, George A. 
Simmons, from Essex ; John W. Tamlin, from Jefferson ; 
John A. Lott, from Kings ; Levi S. Chatfield, from Otsego ; 
George R. Davis, from Rensselaer ; the benevolent friend of 
popular education and of man, Calvin T. Hulburt, from St. 
Lawrence ; the active and energetic Halsey Rogers and 
John Cramer, from Saratoga; Ziba A. Leland, from Steuben; 
Charles Humphre3% former speaker, and now clerk of the 
Supreme Court, from Tompkins ; and Michael Hoffman and 
Arphaxad Loomis, from the county of Herkimer, were all 
men of distinguished ability." 

Isaac R. Elwood, of Rochester, was elected clerk of the 
senate, and Levi S. Chatfield, of Otsego, speaker of the assem- 
bly. Mr. Elwood is a gentleman of high cultivation, and 
possesses extensive and varied literary attainments. Mr. 
Chatfield is a man of superior talents and has exhibited ability 
in all the stations of responsibility he has filled. 

On the evening of the fourth of February, 1842, the demo- 
cratic members of the legislature met in caucus to make 
nominations of state officers. Mr. Flagg was nominated almost 
by acclamation as comptroller, receiving 105 votes of the 107 
members of the caucus ; but the nomination of the other state 
officers was attended with more opposition and excited feeling. 
The principal competitors against Mr. Bakker for the office 
of attorney-general, were Samuel Beardsley and Robert H. 
Morris. Mr. Beardsley had been the occupant of the office 
when the democratic party last retired from power, and his 
friends urged his nomination as an act of justice to him inas- 



62 Biographies and youmialism. 

much as Mr. Flagg was nominated, who had also been one of 
the old officers. Besides, he had the influence of many leading 
politicians at Albany, and in other parts of the state. His 
friends were confident of success and did not treat Mr. BarkI'.R 
as a formidable candidate. Mr. Morris had powerful friends 
in the caucus, who strenuously urged his nomination on the 
ground of the abuse and obloquy which had been heaped upon 
him by Governor Seward and the whig party for his participa- 
tion in laying before the public the Glentworth papers, which 
had produced at that time great interest throughout the state. 
During tiie excitement Mr. Morris found a deep feeling of 
sympathy in his favor in the democratic party, which resulted 
greatly to his benefit in the legislative caucus. He was 
supported by many men of great weight and influence in the 
party in various portions of the state. F. G. Jewett, Amasa 
J, Parker, H. L. Hogeboom and John B. Skinner were candi- 
dates who were supported by many prominent members of the 
party. George Rathbun was also a candidate until the night 
of the caucus when he authorized his friends to withdraw his 
name. 

It will be perceived that almost each democratic portion of 
the state had a candidate for the office, which rendered Mr. 
BarkeIv's nomination quite doubtful in the minds of his 
friends, and his opponents considered it out of the question, 
but were willing to own him to be their second choice. He 
was, however, supported by many from different localities of 
the state, for his eminent qualifications and boundless popu- 
larity. No very prominent or influential men of the party 
originally advocated his nomination, for they were committed 
to the candidates from their localities. Sanford E. Church, of 
Orleans County, had been elected to the legislature, the only 
democratic member from the eighth district. 

Mr. Church was a warm personal and political friend of Mr. 
BARKKR,and at once entered into the contest with great enthu- 
siasm, tempered with caution and cool judgment. He was the 



George P. Barker. 63 

youngest member of the legislature ; but the fact that he had 
been elected from a county which was politically opposed to 
him, and in the eighth district, where it was supposed no 
democrat could ever be elected to the legislature, counteracted 
the effect of his youthful appearance. His strong common 
sense and consummate tact were soon manifest to the saga- 
cious politicians then at Albany, and materially assisted Mr. 
Barker's election to the office. When in the caucus it was 
moved to proceed to ballot for attorney-general, Mr. Church 
rose and offered a resolution that the representation from each 
senate district should cast the number of votes of the mem- 
bers of the legislature from the district. This resolution was 
offered not with a view to its passage, but to impress upon the 
caucus the claims of Western New York, and thereby Mr. 
Barker. Mr. Church addressed the caucus on his resolution 
with marked ability and earnestness. He depicted the strug- 
gles of the democracy in this portion of the state for a quarter 
of a century, with overwhelming majorities against them, and 
unable to have from year to year a single voice in a democratic 
legislative caucus, and deprived of all participation in the 
election of officers who receive their appointment from the 
legislature. He appealed to the magnanimity of the members 
of the caucus to do an act of justice to a meritorious class of 
fellow-democrats. His appeal met a magnanimous respond. 
As soon as he had closed his remarks Mr. Rathbun went to 
his friends and requested them to vote for Mr. BARKER, and 
many who were before doubtful at once avowed in favor of his 
support. It was at once apparent that the tact and manage- 
ment of Mr. Church had set the current irresistibly in favor 
of the nomination of Mr. Barker, notwithstanding the great 
and prominent names and influences that were arrayed against 
him. No rejoinder could be made at such a time, by the 
friends of the opposing candidates, which could overcome the 
popularity of Mr. Barker, and as will be seen below at each 
ballotino- his strenp"th was increasincr until on the third ballot 



64 Biographies and yournalism. 

he received 68 votes, being a majority. When his nomination 
was announced the audience in the galleries gave long and 
repeated cheers for many minutes, which exhibited the deep 
feeling which Mr. Barker's name carried among the masses. 
The nomination also was cordially approved by the friends of 
the various candidates, and the best feeling was exhibited on 
the result in every quarter. Mr. Church, for his agency in the 
nomination, received from Mr. BARKER the title of the Demo- 
cratic Ulcnibcr from the Eighth District, by which designation 
he was known during the remainder of the session. ^.'^ 

Ballotings for attorney-general in caucus: 

ist Ballot. 2d Ballot. 3d Ballot. 

George P. Barker 26 

Samuel Beardsley 23 

Robert H. Morris 22 

A. J. Parker 10 

H. L. Hogeboom 6 

F. G. Jewett 8 

John B. Skinner 10 

The election for state officers was held on the seventh of 
February. Azariah C. Flagg was elected comptroller ; Samuel 
Young, secretary of state ; George P. Barker, attorney-general; 
(Mr. Barker's vote in the senate was 17 and in the assembly 
79, against Willis Hall, who received to in the senate and 26 
in the assembly.) Thomas Farrington, at the same time was 
elected state treasurer; Nathaniel Jones, surveyor-general, 
and Henry Storms, adjutant-general. 

Mr. B.arker's appointment was received with enthusiasm 
by his numerous friends throughout the state, and especially 
welcome was it to Western New York. It was regarded as a 
just tribute to his genius and as an acknowledgment of his 
great exertions in behalf of democracy. 

The following correspondence does honor to all concerned, 
and evinces clearly the high estimation in which Mr. BARKER 
was held by the bar of Eric County: 



2,7 


68 


18 


2 


34 


35 


8 


I 


5 




4 




I 





George P. Barker. 65 

Buffalo, February 10, 1842. 

Dear Sir: The members of the bar of this county, in 
common, as they believe, with all classes of their fellow- 
citizens, have heard with emotions of pride and pleasure, that 
one of their number towards whom they have entertained 
high feelings of professional esteem and private regard, has 
been selected to fill the responsible and honorable office of 
attorney-general of the state. 

They ought not to disguise from you, however (if indeed 
disguise were possible in such a case), that there is mingled 
with gratification at this appointment something of regret. 
Regret, that the relations which have so long, and so happily 
subsisted between them and yourself, must now be, in a degree, 
though slight we trust, less intimate ; that the friendship which 
has known no political differences and in which official position 
can effect no change, should be separated by distance even ; 
that the endearments of social intercourse, and the pride of 
professional association, cannot both continue to unite them to 
you. Regret, public duties should require you to leave, for a 
time, what they had hoped would always remain their and 
your home. 

We have been appointed a committee to communicate in 
behalf of the members of the bar, these sentiments, and to 
express, without distinction of part}', their ardent desires for 
your success and happiness. 

As heretofore, they felt a common interest in your just 
reputation, they will rejoice as it shall be more eminent, in 
more extended usefulness, and in a wider sphere. They wish 
you, with one accord, personal prosperity and professional 
fame. 

Should your arrangements permit, the members of the bar 
wish to meet you at the festive board before )'ou leave the 



66 BiograpJiies and yoitrnalism. 

city, and they request that you will partake, with them, a 
dinner on such day as your own convenience may suggest. 

We are your friends, 

H.J. Stow, 

Horatio Seymouh, Jr., 
S. G. Haven, 
E. S. Warren, 
Geo. R. Babcock, 

Committee. 0) 

To George P. Barker, Attorney-General. 



Buffalo, Februar\' 14, 1S42. 

To H. J. Stow, Horatio Skymour, Jr., S. G. Haven, E. S. War- 
RFN and Geo. R. Babcock, Esquires: 

Gentlemen — I had the pleasure, on the iith instant, to 
receive the favor of the members of the bar of Erie County, 
through you as their honored organ, congratulating me upon 
my "recent appointment to fill the responsible and honorable 
ofifice of attorney-general of this state," and requesting me to 
meet them at the festive board on such day previous to my 
departure as my own convenience might suggest. 

I need not assure you, gentlemen, how deeply and how 
gratefully I am impressed by this compliment, so generously 
designed on the part of my brethren of the profession, and so 
flatteringly communicated by you, their committee. 

I regret that the period to my departure from this city is so 
short, interrupted as it must be by duties incident thereto, 
that I am compelled to decline an invitation, the acceptance 
of which would give me so much pleasure. 

The manner in which you have seen fit to allude to our 
professional and social intercourse, has awakened sentiments 
in me which I am without language to express and must 
content myself by simply assuring you, and those )'ou repre- 



George P. Barker. 67 

sent, that I appreciate all your and their past and present 
kindness, and reciprocate all the friendship so happily ex- 
pressed ; and I am fully confident that if I, in an}' degree, 
possess those social virtues which you have so flatteringly 
conceded, it is because I have breathed the atmosphere which 
you created — and if I have made one step in professional 
advancement, it is because your example has inspired me and 
your partiality cheered me. 

The strong and, I doubt not, sincere expressions of kind 
regard toward me personally, contained in your communica- 
tion, gives me ample proof that your social feelings are of a 
character too elevated and too pure to be influenced by any 
diversity of political sentiments or professional controversy, 
and fully evince that the members of the bar of Erie County 
are indeed legitimate members of a liberal profession. 

I beg, therefore, my brethren of the profession, to be assured 
that I shall carry with me the highest respect for their talents 
and friendship, which will not be changed by any future 
vicissitude of fortune ; that my eyes will always be turned to 
the members of the bar of Erie County, as my earliest and 
best-tried friends. 

With best wishes for your collective and individual hap- 
piness, 

I have the honor to be your friend, 

Geo. p. Barker. 



68 Biographies and Journalism. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Presidential Election of 1844 — The Secret Circular — Mr. Barker's Speech with 
Reference thereto — Result of the Election. 

Mr. Barker, in common with most of the democracy of 
this state, regarded the selection of Mr. Van Buren, as the 
candidate at the presidential election in 1844, ^^ '^^ ^ct of 
justice due not only to Mr. Van Buren personally, but also to 
the principles of the party he had represented and which had 
been temporarily overthrown by the great whig triumph four 
years before. Brought by his official position and other cir- 
cumstances into intimate connection with men feeling the 
deepest personal interest in Mr. Van Buren's re-election to 
the presidency, it was natural that one of his ardent tempera- 
ment should become strongly excited by events then trans- 
piring, which were diminishing, if not certainly destroying, 
every chance of Mr. Van Buren's obtaining the nomination of 
the Baltimore convention. Chief among those events was 
the question of the annexation of Texas, and the position in 
which Mr. Van Buren had placed himself thereto. No doubt 
the position was taken under a clear conviction of duty. 
His sagacious mind foreshadowed the dangers of war with a 
neighboring republic, if the annexation of Texas was urged 
upon grounds of sectional interest, without proper regard to 
the feelings of Mexico, and in violation of the ordinary rules 
of diplomacy. Subsequent events have shown his appre- 
hensions were well founded ; but whether Texas could have 
been peaceably annexed under his line of policy is a matter of 
conjecture, which each citizen of our government must decide. 

Those, and there were man}- such, prominent in the 
democratic ranks, who coincided full)- in the sentiments 



George P. Barkei\ 69 

expressed in Mr. Van Buren's letter, considered the pressing 
of the question into the presidential canvass, as not required 
b\' the state of popular feeling, but as aggressive on the part 
of the slave-holding states, with an exclusive design of 
strengthening sectional interests at the expense of Mr. Van 
Buren and at the hazard of the success of the democratic 
part)'. It is not strange, therefore, that an act which, although 
demanded by national considerations of great magnitude and 
which subsequent events proved to have been indispensable 
elements of the great victory achieved by the democracy, 
should have been viewed, b}' those whose cherished hopes it 
must disappoint, as an ungenerous contrivance to prevent 
Mr. Van Buren's nomination ; and especially as it was 
impossible for them to doubt that his election would certainly 
follow a nomination, or to credit the sincerity of those who, 
looking more calmly at the popular sentiment on the subject 
of the annexation and, therefore, measuring it more accurately, 
declared that it was impossible for the democratic party to 
succeed with a candidate not unqualified!)' in favor of the 
measure. 

The irritation incident to so great a disappointment could 
not be expected to subside at once into an unqualified acquies- 
cence in the action of the convention, however wise the course 
of events might show that action to have been, but \ery 
naturall)' showed itself in some acts of indiscretion amongst 
a few most warml)' excited against what they deemed southern 
domination. The most exceptionable o'i these acts, more 
perhaps from the form of doing it than otherwise, was the 
getting up and confidentially distributing a letter known 
generally as " the secret circular," to which Mr. Barker's 
name was attached. 

It is uncertain what degree of responsibility should be 
ascribed to him for this document. Probably much less than 
might be inferred from his high and influential party position. 
Indeed there is reason for supposing that he had little direct 



JO Biographies and Journalism. 

agency in its production, and that his signature to it was 
conceded rather to the wishes of personal friends than to the 
conviction of his own judgment. But, howev^er this may be, 
he was not a man to shrink from a responsibility which friends 
had brought him under, and therefore we must leave him, as 
he chose to be left, subject to the imputation of whatever 
indiscretion the act may be thought to involve. 

In the view I have taken of this subject I am fully confirmed 
by Mr. Barker's own testimony. He "defined his position" 
in a speech made in Buffalo, on the evening of the seventh of 
September, 1844. The meeting was held for the purpose of 
responding to the nomination of Messrs. Wright and Gardiner, 
and was numerously attended by the democracy of the city. 
The daily Courier, the democratic organ of the city at that 
time, speaking of the speech, says : 

" The speech of General Barker on that occasion deserves 
more than the passing notice we have given it, more than the 
condensed report of the proceedings could embody. The 
circumstances under which it was made gave it a peculiar 
interest, and it is presumed that the same circumstances must 
to some extent influence his numerous friends throughout the 
country. His views have been so systematically misrepresented 
by the federal press, that it was due to them to be presented 
by himself to those with whom he had so long battled in 
behalf of the democratic cause, who had supported him 
through every period of his political career, who had cheered, 
encouraged and countenanced his efforts on the side of human 
rights from his first awakening to the duty of a disciple of 
Jefferson, and a servant of humanity, to the last struggle in 
which with them he opposed the enemies of popular freedom, 
that the)^ might see wherein he had strayed from the republican 
fold, if he had done so — that they might shield him against 
detraction if he still held his old place in their full confidence 
and esteem. 

" It is needless to say that this speech, though rather the 



George P. Barker. 7 1 

friendly converse of an old acquaintance, than any labored 
effort to be brilliant and oratorical, was eloquent and spirit- 
stirring. There were passages in it that awoke the fiery 
enthusiasm of the old democracy of Buffalo to a pitch that 
never but in the present canvass and under the circumstances 
could be paralleled, and there were also passages that almost 
brought unbidden tears to the cheeks of veterans in the 
democratic ranks that surrounded him. It was full of feclino- 
and truth, and went to the hearts of those who heard it." 

He commenced by alluding to the old relations he held to 
those he addressed, and the i)leasure it gave him to meet with 
and congratulate them on such an occasion. He congratulated 
them and the democracy of the state and the Union on the 
expression that had been given of their wishes by the state 
convention which nominated Silas Wright for governor of 
New York. And who was Silas Wright? He was one, in the 
language of the poet, 

" On whom each god did seem to set his seal, 
To give the world assurance of a Man." 

He was one whose far-seeing sagacity, whose deep sympathy 
with whatever was beautiful and true, and whose disinterested 
and devoted love of country had wrested from admiration, for 
a garland to his name, the proud title of " Cato of America." 
He was the personification of American democracy, of that 
profound regard for the rights of the many, as uicii, which, 
glowing in the bosom of the sage of Monticello, sparkled forth 
from his pen and was enshrined in the foundation of our 
freedom. He was one who had just turned his back upon the 
highest office this side of heaven, who had turned his back 
also upon the highest judicial station in the country, but who 
freely gave himself to the democracy of the state, feeling the 
holiness of their claim upon him. And the democracy of the 
state, in the spirit of the patriarch who offered his son for a 
sacrifice, had nominated him to show to the Union the devo- 



']2 Biogi-aphies and Journalism. 

tion they felt to the common cause in this great crisis of 
republicanism, and to assure them, that although they 
sustained a deep disappointment in the defeat of Mr. Van 
Buren at the national convention, they gave to the worthy 
nominee upon whom the preference had fallen their whole 
and cordial support. They gave to the democracy of their 
sister states, for an example and encouragement, the choicest 
jewel in their possession as an hostage for her fidelity to the 
republican cause, thus assuring the triumph of the national 
democratic candidates. No military laurels lustered the head 
of this favorite son of New York, no startling incident in the 
history of his country was identified with his fame, but by the 
native dignity of his character, by the faultless purity of his 
public life, by his ceaseless devotion to the common welfare, 
by the unvarj-ing fidelity of his attachment to democratic 
principles, he stood among the very first and noblest of his 
nation and his age, the pride of his state and one of the pillars 
of his country's glory. Such was the candidate for the chief 
office, and such the spirit in which the nomination had been 
made. 

He said it was with emotions of peculiar gratification that 
he referred to the selection of Addison Gardiner for lieutenant- 
governor. If an)'thing could add to the satisfaction the 
nomination of Mr. Wright had given, it was abundantly in- 
creased by the choice of Mr. Gardiner, a man of the purest 
character, of sterling qualities, and a democrat of that district, 
the old eighth, where they were born so, and hated federalism 
because they couldn't help it. The sentiment was innate. In 
Mr. Gardiner, the democracy of Western New York hailed a 
brother and a friend. One who in that station, or any other 
in which he might be placed, would deserve and reciprocate 
their fullest confidence. This nomination added to the assur- 
ance New York had given to the rest of the Union that her 
soul was in the great contest, that her vote should be bestowed 
on the Baltimore democratic nominees. These selections 



Gcoi'ge P. Barker. 73 

settled her vote and settled the triumph of the country in the 
elevation of Polk and Dallas to the hiLjh offices for which they 
had been nominated. Again he congratulated the democracy, 
present and everywhere, upon the auspicious promise secured 
to the state and the Union by the nominations of Wright and 
Gardiner. He had intended to address them upon the great 
questions which the issue of this contest involved. He was 
suffering under physical debility, the consequence of previous 
exertion, and felt unable to do them that justice which their 
importance demanded. He would embrace a future oppor- 
tunity to do so, and before the election would terminate, would 
tread his old battle-ground of Erie County over again as a 
soldier of the war. But there was one question on which it 
became him to make a few remarks to them, his old personal 
and political friends. He would open his whole heart to them 
and talk with an unreserved confidence, as though he were 
conversing with each by his own family fireside. The question 
he alluded to, it would be readily surmised, was the annexation 
of Texas. The whig press had systematically and grossly 
misrepresented his views upon that subject, and one or two 
democratic journals had seemingly given some credit to their 
erroneous intimations. He felt the flame of democracy burn 
as brightly and purely in his bosom as it had ever done, and 
his explanation of his sentiments would show that if he had 
erred, it was from too nmch and not too little of the democratic 
infusion — because he was in advance and not behind his party. 
If he ever fell, he would assure them that it would be at the 
Jiead and not in the rear of their column. He was at peace 
with himself, and if he was not also at peace with his friends 
the fault was in his too much zeal, but he hoped better of it. 
The annexation of Texas he regarded as a great national, 
a great American question. It could not, from its very nature, 
be a party question, because it involved none of those princi- 
ples which were in issue between the parties. If the question 
was merely of the extension of democratic principles it would 
6 



74 Biographies and yoiirnalism. 

have a different form. He regarded slavery quite in other 
than the light of a blessing. That institution, as it existed, 
he would suffer to remain as it is under the guard of the con- 
stitution, until it be removed by the action of the states in 
which it exists. He should dislike the extension of slavery 
over the whole of a new and vast country. He wished also 
that the public debt of Texas should be ascertained before 
the union with this country should be effected. He could not 
commit himself, with a blind and reckless disregard of what was 
just and right, to any terms of annexation that might possibly 
be offered. He thought the resolution of the Baltimore con- 
vention might have expressed more clearly the intention of 
its framers to sanction nothing but what was proper and just. 
It was liable to misrepresentation, and had been so misrepre- 
sented by our opponents. He should have liked it better, had 
it been more definite as to terms, expressing justice and honor 
instead of leaving them to be understood as conditions of the 
act of union. 

The relations between Mexico and Texas he did not regard 
as insuperable obstacles. The title of the former was to be 
determined by her ability to enforce it, and if upon a precept 
to show cause she did not in a reasonable time plead recovery 
and possession, she was justly barred from the right to reclaim. 
There was a law of limitations in the code of common sense 
as well as in the statute books of the civil tribunals. The 
circumstances of the case were such that he should almost be 
willing to give her the length of an usual notice to quit, and 
let that be the end of it. 

He believed and felt assured that the institutions of this 
country might be safely extended over the entire continent, 
and he did not doubt but they would be. The flight of the 
American eagle might be from pole to pole, and from sea to 
sea, and the stars and stripes be the banner of the whole broad 
dominion. They would be at some future period, and he 
thanked God they were abundantly able to protect it. Oregon 



George P. Barker. 75 

was ours, ours by discovery, by purchase and by conquest, and 
he was for taking possession of it and making short work with 
the pretensions of England. He would almost rather fight 
England without cause than any other nation with, but there 
would be cause enough if she persisted in her claim to Oregon. 
It was ours and we would have it, because it ivas ours, even if 
we had no present use for it. The soil that is consecrated by 
the rights of liberty must never be yielded to despots. It was 
bought by the blood of our fathers, and the blood of those 
fathers' children should preserve it, if needs be. 

Texas must belong to the Union and be a part of it. 
Nature made it so, and man must confirm it. Its annexation 
was inevitable and neither could nor ought to be prevented. 
The only question that could arise was upon the conditions of 
her coming. It was desirable to have those conditions suitable 
and proper, based upon equitable terms, and adjusted in a 
wise and liberal spirit. The adjustment of those conditions 
he was content to leave with the democratic party, for he was 
satisfied that they would be just and reasonable, and such as 
would satisfy the country and do no prejudice to the national 
honor. It would be seen that he could not withhold his 
support from the democratic candidates, even if he differed 
with the federalists on no other subject than this. Their whole 
past course had been such as to show that they could not be 
trusted with the rights or the honor of the country. In the 
last war they were on the side of England, their whole policy 
was a British one, and even so late as within the last three or 
four years they had bowed the eagle's head in the dust in 
obedience to that power, and even bartered away for a song 
the sacred soil of the republic. How then could the settle- 
ment of this great question be trusted with that party? It 
could not, and it was the duty of every one who wished it to 
be settled in a proper and equitable manner, to place the 
power in the hands of those whose past conduct was a guar- 
antee that it would be wisely and righteously used. 



76 Biographies and Journalism. 

It was seen that he was not opposed to the annexation of 
Texas; that he was, on the contrary, decidedly in favor of it, 
and that in fact the only difference between him and the 
democratic party at large, was that he had expressed his 
opinion as to some of the conditions that should govern it, 
instead of being silent and leaving them to be broached when 
the time for the execution of the project came up. He had 
offended only in this, if he offended at all, which he could not 
believe. He left to his friends to say whether they approved 
of or condemned his views, but he could not consent to be 
judged by his enemies, and hoped only they would continue 
to abuse him, for praise from a federal tongue was the bitter- 
est malignity of detraction. 

Much had been said about a certain circular, a sort of bugbear 
\vith which the whigs had sought to frighten democrats from 
their propriety of demeanor, and this use of it had probably 
made it to be regarded as infinitely more terrible than it really 
was. It was never intended as the basis of a secret measure but 
only as the origin of a public one, if the leading democrats of 
♦the state thought there existed sufficient cause for it. It was 
prepared and sent at a time when it Was apprehended that 
there might be many honest people in the state who, from a 
misapprehension of the views of the national convention in 
regard to Texas, might feel disposed to abandon the demo- 
cratic platform and vote for Mr. Clay. The object of the 
circular was to ascertain if there were many such, and if there 
were, consequently a necessity of some public step to induce 
them to support the democratic nominees, Polk and Dallas, by 
showing them that that course was the only consistent or 
prudent one, as it certainly would have been. 

The whole compass of its meaning was to serve and not to 
injure, to unite and not to divide, the democratic party. It 
was sent as confidential to avoid false alarm, the object being 
simply to inquire. If the result should show that there were 
doubts to remove and difficulties to heal, then a public step 



George P. Barker. J^J 

was to be taken to perform that office. But if, as prov^ed to 
be the case, there was no danger to apprehend, then of course 
there was nothing to be done, and the inquiry would rest in 
the obli\'ion to which it belonged. That was the whole length 
and breadth of the celebrated secret circular. There was no 
gall in its chemistry until it was infused by its foes. It origi- 
nated in the best intentions: from an over-anxious, perhaps, 
but not unkindly meant solicitude for the harmony and effi- 
ciency of the democratic force. The event showed that it was 
not needed, perhaps that it was unwise, but it was born in 
good thoughts and ought not to be kept alive by bad motives. 
Let it sleep, in its folly if people will, but also in its innocence. 

It was said by the federal press that he ought to support 
Mr. Clay. He support Mi-. Clay.' The thought was a libel, 
the suggestion a falsehood. Mr. Clay was not opposed to the 
annexation of Texas, he had said he would be glad to see it, 
and if he (Mr. B.) was as hostile to it as he was the reverse, he 
could not with any propriety support him, even throwing out 
of the question all the great and important issues — issues upon 
which he believed the destiny not only of a small territory, a 
few thousand inhabitants, but of this great country with its 
myriad people, depend for' weal or woe — which were to be 
determined by this election. There was but one democratic 
course, there was but one patriotic course, and there was but 
one prudent course, and there was but one honest course, and 
that course had been his from the first. He had not wavered 
the length of a line, or a hair's breadth from it ; and he should 
carry it out, as every friend of his country, of humanity, of 
all, in one word, and that word democracy, he hoped would do, 
and that was, by supporting the democratic nominees of nation 
and state, with his best ability and zeal, and putting up prayers 
in addition, if he thought them necessary, for the success of 
Polk, Dallas, Wright and Gardiner. 

The election resulted in the triumph of the democracy in 
the state and nation. The Empire State had been the battle- 



yS Biographies and yotirnalism. 

ground of the Union. Here the orators of each party had 
made formidable demonstrations in favor of their respective 
candidates. But Silas Wright's name was a " tower of 
strength; " under it, the legions of democracy were invincible. 
The principles of the democratic party were once more placed 
in the ascendant. I do not purpose to allude to the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Polk — to its many important events, nor to 
the divisions in the democratic part)' in this state, which 
became more manifest after his elevation to the presidencj^ — 
in other than general terms. Without dilating upon the 
events which produced these divisions, it is proper, however, 
that I should state that Mr. Barker from the first sided 
warmly with the radical or barn-burning portions of the part\\ 
On every occasion which was presented he took decided and 
high grounds in favor of the principles of the Wilmot Proviso, 
and the distinctive principles of his section of the party. His 
labors in favor of radical democracy justly entitle him to the 
honor of being classed with the lamented Wright and Hoffman. 
Like them, alas! he was struck down by death in the meridian 
of life, and in the prime of his intellect. 



George P. Barker. 79 



CHAPTER VII. 

History of his Attorney-Generalship. 

Before alluding to Mr. Barker's career as attorney- 
general, I shall briefly notice the difficulties which became 
more palpable in the democratic party in this state, during 
tile period he held the office. I cannot make myself better 
understood on this point than by quoting from Mr. Hammond's 
valuable political history. Speaking of the legislature of 1843, 
he says : 

" No material alterations were made in the New York 
legislature, as respects the committees of the two houses, 
except those caused by the election of new members, in lieu 
of those of last year. Mr. Hoffinan not having been 
a candidate, and of course not having been re-elected, 
Mr. Allen, of Oswego, was appointed to supply his place as 
chairman of the committee of ways and means in the assembly. 

" The state officers — consisting of Samuel Young, secretary 
of state; A. C. Flagg, comptroller; George P. Barker, attorney- 
general ; Thomas Farrington, treasurer; and Mr. Jones, the 
surveyor-general — were all of them radical in their political 
views, and warml}' in favor of the financial act of 1842. 
Besides, as we have before remarked, if not opposed to the 
nomination of Mr. Bouck, they at least acquiesced in it with 
coldness and some reluctance. From their standing and 
talents they possessed great influence in the legislature, and 

over the minds of the masses of the democratic part}\" 
****** * * 

" With men of such talents, weight of character, and 
political influence, comprising in theory a part of the state 
administration, who looked upon him with coldness, the 



8o Biographies and Journalism. 

situation of Mr. Bouck may well be considered as having been 
anything but that of ease and quiet. 

" The state officers, as we are assured b}' a gentleman 
intimate with them all, doubted whether the governor really 
and cordially approved of Mr. Hoffman's act of 1842; and 
his message on that subject was not satisfactory to them, nor, 
as our correspondent says, to those 'who, in 1840, '41 and '42, 
had occupied the front of the battle against the continuation 
of expenditures for the extension of internal improvements, 
but,' he adds, ' they remained inactive.' 

" By some means it came to be understood at the very 
commencement of Mr. Bouck's administration, that a portion 
of the democratic party were opposed to him. This portion 
was understood as acting under the advisement of the state 
officers. Whether such was the fact, we do not know ; but 
we do know it was so reported, and we have reason to believe 
that Governor Bouck gave some credit to the rumor. No 
doubt some of the applicants for office encouraged this notion, 
and were careful to represent themselves as friends to the 
governor, /^r excellence. If this disaffection was at first ideal, 
it soon became real, and began to be recognized. The 
governor, however, attempted to conciliate; and with that 
view generally made his appointments from candidates recom- 
mended by county conventions, or by members of the legis- 
lature from the respective counties where the applicants 
resided. By adopting this course, he appointed nearh^ or 
perhaps quite as many of those who were called his opponents, 
as of those who were known to be his friends. In this way 
the governor surrendered to irresponsible county conventions 
and to the members of the legislature, that patronage with 
which the constitution had invested him. He, nevertheless, 
was held responsible by his friends for appointing those they 
called his enemies. 

" We have never known tliis temporizing policy pursued 
with success. We like much better the course which our 



George P. Darker. 8i 

correspondent says Mr. Flagg pursued in the canal board. 
The governor should either, in all his conversations and 
intercourse, have repudiated the insinuations that the state 
officers and their friends were opposed to him, and waged war 
against the men who persisted in asserting that such was tiie 
fact ; or he should have declared war against the state officers, 
and wielded his patronage accordingly. With such veteran 
political partisans he should have seen no middle course could 
be taken. We hope our readers will bear in mind that we now 
speak o{ party policy only. 

" But the controversy which grew out of the appointment 
of a state printer as the successor of Mr. Weed, whom it was 
determined to remove (solely for party reasons), produced the 
sharpest collisions, and probably had more effect in creating 
and perpetuating the difference between the two sections of 
the democratic party, and attracted more the attention of the 
legislature and of the public, than any other occurrence during 
the year 1843." 

After, at considerable length, stating the history of the 
controversy and of the action of the legislature with reference 
to the public printing, Mr. Hammond goes on to say : 

" On the twenty-first of January, a caucus of the democratic 
members of the two houses was held for the nomination of a 
state printer. But before giving the result of this meeting it 
may be proper to state that Mr. Van Dyck had withdrawn his 
name as a candidate for the office, and there was not in reality 
any candidate against Mr. Croswell. Those of the caucus 
who would not vote for Mr. Croswell, voted, without any hope 
of success, and we presume without any serious effort on his 
part, for William C. Bryant, of the Evening Post. There were 
108 members present, of whom 66 voted for Mr. Croswell, 40 
for Mr. Bryant, and there were two scattering votes cast. 

" The next day the election was made by the two houses, 
in pursuance of the nomination. On the same day Ebenezer 
Mack, of Ithaca, formerly a senator, and author of the biog- 



82 Biogi^aphies and yournalism. 

raphy of General Lafayette, was chosen printer to the senate, 
and Messrs. Carrol & Cook for the assembly." 

Mr. H. then alludes to the establishment of the Albany 
Atlas, in 1841, by Messrs. Vance & Wendell ; to its transfer in 
1843 to Messrs. French & Cassidy ; to the course it pursued 
while Mr. Van Dyck was contending with Mr. Croswell for the 
state printing ; to the fact that on the seventh of February, 
1843, Silas Wright was re-elected senator of the United States 
for six years from the fourth day of March, 1843. -^^ ^^ 
caucus held on the evening before the day on which Mr. 
W^right was chosen, upon balloting for a candidate, his name 
was found written on every ballot. He had in fact outlived not 
only opposition but competition. 

" The feuds that prevailed at Albany, and among the demo- 
cratic members of the legislature, did not to any extent affect 
the people in the country counties. They were, it is true, felt 
in the county of Oneida ; but there the hunkers seem at that 
time to have held a majority over both whigs and radicals. 
However, Mr. Horatio Seymour, who was very popular, was a 
candidate for the assembly from the City of Utica, and 
undoubtedly added great strength to the ticket; besides, we 
believe both parties at that time in Oneida County held them- 
selves bound by regular nominations. 

"That the divisions in Albany did not affect the election in 
the state, is proved by the general result. Nearl}- three to one 
of the members returned to the assembly were democrats ; 
and in eight senatorial districts, the democratic party succeeded 
in all except the eighth. The senate after this election con- 
tained twenty-six democrats ahd only six whigs. 

Of a transaction which occurred in 1844, and which doubt- 
less contributed considerably to widen the breach which then 
prevailed in the party in this state, Mr. Hammond thus speaks: 

" Formerly the librarian of the state library was appointed 
by the governor, lieutenant-governor and state officers. In 
the year 1842, Mr. William Cassidy, a young man who had 



George P. Bai'ker. 83 

many friends in Albany, as well on account of his own char- 
acter as on that of his father, who, though little known out of 
Albany, with all the ardent, native benevolence of an Irish- 
man, literall}' fed the hungr)- and clothed the naked, was 
appointed librarian by the votes of the state officers — Messrs. 
Young, Flagg and Barker — against the votes of governor 
Seward and lieutenant-governor Bradish. He continued to 
hold the office till June, 1844. But in the winter of that year 
an act was passed constituting the regents of the university 
trustees of the state library, and transferring to them the 
power of appointing the librarian. It has been suggested by 
tlie friends of Mr. Cassid}', that one cause of passing this act 
was to procure his removal from the office. However this 
may be, on the first da)' of June, at a meeting of the regents, 
Mr. Cassidy was removed. We ought to have mentioned, that 
he had for some time before been one of the editors of the 
Albany Atlas ; and it was urged, on a motion for his removal, 
that his time and attention were so much engaged in the 
management of that paper, that he did not, and could not, 
devote the necessary time to the proper performance of his 
duties as a librarian, but no specific charge of official negli- 
gence was made against him. The board of regents proper 
were equally divided on the question of removal. The rx-officio 
regents then present were, the secretary of state. Colonel 
YouuCT, and Governor Bouck and Lieutenant-Governor Dickin- 
son. Mr. Young voted against removal, and Mr. Dickinson 
for it. This cast the responsibility on Governor Bouck of 
giving a casting vote, and he gave that vote for the removal of 
Cassidy. The course of the governor on this question increased 
the hostility and irritation against him." 

It would be inconsistent with my limits for me to go at 
length into a narration of the dissensions in the democratic 
party in this state. Yet it .seemed necessary to give some- 
thing, by which an accurate opinion could be formed of Mr. 
Barker'.S connection with them. In a previous chapter I 



84 Biographies and yournalisni. 

have given, at some length, his opinions with reference to the 
"secret circular," and have also noticed some of the causes of 
its promulgation. I believe Mr. BARKER was conscientious!}^ 
opposed to the extension of slavery over territories now free. 
He regarded its influence upon the great elements of national 
prosperity as deleterious. He believed it was opposed to the 
genius of our institutions, and looked upon it as calculated to 
thwart all the efforts of the fathers of the republic to establish 
and perpetuate the blessings of free institutions. He was a 
sincere believer in the doctrine of free soil for free men. He 
thought, with some of our wisest and best men, that free and 
slave labor could not flourish on the same soil. 

In 1847, ^^ believed "the time had come" when opposition 
to slavery extension should be incorporated into the demo- 
cratic platform. He felt, therefore, constrained to act zeal- 
ously with the radical democracy in carrying out their 
principles. His conduct was, as might have been expected, 
rigidly scrutinized. He was bitterl}^ denounced by some, and 
charged with deserting the party. To those acquainted with 
his history, this charge was regarded as frivolous, if not 
ridiculous. They recollected that when, years ago, anti- 
masonry swept over the western portion of the state, he was 
fearlessly battling for democratic measures and men ; that 
from his youth he had adhered to the party in the darkest 
hours ; they remembered how he threw himself into the 
breach in 1840, against the excitement of "Tippecanoe and 
Tyler, too" — they could not forget his enthusiastic support of 
the ticket in 1844, notwithstanding Mr. Van Buren's treat- 
ment at the Baltimore convention ; they could not forget how 
generously he had devoted his time and talents in aid of the 
democracy through a series of years. His course, therefore, 
caused most of his political friends to cling still closer to him. 
He identified himself with the section of the party which 
sustained, as he believed, the principles of true democracy. 
In behalf of those principles he battled with all the energy 



George P. Barker. 85 

and eloquence with which he* was endowed. Among the 
pioneers, in the noble stand made by the friends of free soil 
against the slavery extension principle, his name must ever 
stand prominent. With that fearlessness and frankness so 
natural to him, he embarked in the struggle betw een antag- 
onistic interests, and upon the issue staked his political 
prospects. I have often heard him speak in prophetic language 
with reference to the free soil movement ; he predicted the 
day was not far distant when it would meet the cordial 
approval of the entire democratic party. Though firm and 
decided in his course, he was still courteous and kind to those 
who entertained different opinions. 

I cannot better conclude this connection, than by noticing 
the Syracuse convention of 1844, which nominated Silas Wright 
for governor, and thereby secured the ascendancy of the demo- 
cratic party in the state and nation. 

Mr. Hammond, alluding to it, says: "The convention was 
held on the fourteenth of September, and the various counties 
in the state were fully represented in it. 

" Mr. Heman J. Redfield, of Genesee, a hunker, was, it is 
said, at the request of Mr. Wright, unanimously elected 
president, and Judge Denio, of Oneida, and General Sawyer, 
of Schoharie, with six others, were chosen vice-presidents. 
Governor Bouck had instructed a judicious friend, who was a 
delegate, to withdraw his name for competition if he should 
think proper ; and as it was soon ascertained that a large 
majority of the delegates were for nominating Mr. Wright, 
the personal friends of that gentleman urged that the name of 
Governor Bouck should be withdrawn, they having, as was 
supposed, reason to believe that Mr. Wright would be dis- 
satisfied if his name should be used in opposition to ' any 
republican.' But the delegate to whom Governor Bouck had 
given this discretionary authority, upon consulting with the 
other friends of Mr. Bouck, was advised against withdrawing 
his name. The convention, therefore, proceeded to a ballot. 



86 Biographies and yoiLvnalisni. 

which resulted in ninety-five »votes for Wright and thirty for 
Bouck ; whereupon Mr. Seymour, one of the most distin- 
guished and zealous friends of the renomination of Governor 
Bouck, moved that the nomination of Mr. Wright should be 
declared unanimous, and the resolution was adopted without 
a dissenting voice. Addison Gardiner, late circuit judge of 
the eighth circuit, was unanimously nominated for lieutenant- 
governor." '-^ "''■ * '"^ " By the resolutions adopted by 
the convention they denounced a high tariff, a national bank, 
the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands, etc., and 
they approved the resolutions adopted by the Baltimore con- 
vention. They do not allude to the annexation of Texas, 
other than by expressing their approbation of the principles 
put forth by the Baltimore convention. They probably 
designedly avoided any express allusion to that 'great 
Aincriam measure,' because, among other reasons, their 
candidate for governor had voted against the Texas treaty in 
the senate, and since his return from Washington, and since 
the Baltimore convention, had declared, in a speech delivered 
at Watertown to a mass meeting, that he was opposed to 
annexation." 

In order to explain Mr. Barker's position on what I regard 
as important subjects, I have somewhat deviated from my 
regular narrative. I shall now briefly allude to his professional 
career as attorney-general. Shortly after his election in 
February, 1842, he took up his residence in Alban}', and 
entered upon the discharge of the responsible and delicate 
duties of his office. His immediate predecessors, Samuel 
Beardsley and Willis Hall, were men of great legal ability and 
were peculiarly well qualified for their station. They dis- 
charged their duties in a very satisfactory manner. 

All that seemed strictly necessary for me to notice in this 
connection, is the manner in which Mr. BARKER discharged 
the arduous duties pertaining to his station. I infer the 
peculiar character of the duties of the attorne\'-general are 



George P. Barker. 87 

well understood. It is conceded that he exhibited in a pre- 
eminent degree those qualities for which he was noted. His 
intellect, as I have before remarked, shone best before a jury. 
In many important trials, he acquitted himself with distin- 
guished credit, and some of his forensic efforts during his 
attorney-generalship are acknowledged to have been among 
the noblest emanations from the American bar. He was 
necessarily brought into competition with men of the highest 
legal attainments, but on all occasions he sustained himself 
with honor. His intellect seemed to brighten by the contests, 
and each encounter added to his fame. In the Cit)' of 
New York, particularly — a city noted for great professional 
ability, and numbering in its bar gentlemen celebrated for 
their soul-stirring eloquence, his commanding talents elicited 
from the press, of both the great political parties, the warmest 
encomiums. Indeed, the press throughout the state, without 
distinction of party, bore testimony to his success. His 
polished and kind manner rendered him popular among all 
with whom his official duties brought him in contact, and it is 
universally admitted that he honorably sustained himself 
throughout his entire term. 

In February, 1845, the period for the election of state 
officers having arrived, Mr. BARKER was offered a re-appoint- 
ment, but he declined, and John Van Buren, Esq., a gentlemen 
of distinguished attainments, was elected his successor. 

During the three years Mr. Barker resided in the capital, 
he gained the esteem of all classes, and his memor}- is warnil)- 
cherished by the Albanians. After his retirement from the 
office of attorney-general, he returned to Buffalo, and resumed 
the practice of the law. 

Since writing Mr. BARKER'S legislative history, my attention 
has been called to a letter ( which I subjoin ) written by the 
highly esteemed president of Union College. It was addressed 
to Mr. Barker, and contains the most salutary advice ex- 
pressed in the most felicitous st\'le. Additional interest will 



88 Biographies and Joiirnalism. 

be attached to it, when I state that Dr. Nott has always 
entertained the warmest feelings of friendship towards hiin, 
and when he left Union College confidcntl}' predicted his 
future eminence. 

Union College, J''^n. 20, 1836. 

Dear Sir — -Since I did not find you in the other day when 
I called, the interest I feel in your success as a public man, 
will be my apology for troubling you with a few observations, 
the observance of which may be of some use. J"' 

Do not speak often, and only on important occasions. When 
you do speak be brief, pertinent and stop when you have 
finished. Speak rather in the furtherance of your own objects 
than in defeating those of others. Endeavor to allay the 
prejudices which naturally exist between the city and the 
country. Be courteous on all occasions, especially in debate 
and to your immediate antagonists. Never indulge in person- 
alities. Never lose your temper, nor make an enemy if you 
can avoid it. Conquests may be made by conciliation and 
persuasion as certainly as by ridicule and sarcasm, but in the 
one case the chains are silken and sit easy — in the other, iron 
and gall the wearer. Though you point your arrows never 
poison them ; and if the club of Hercules must be raised, let 
it be the naked club, not entwined with serpents. 

These are hints merely, but a word to the wise is sufficient. 
And with legislators or others, a man needs to live one life to 
know how to live another, and since this cannot be done liter- 
ally, we can only do it in effect, by availing ourselves of the 
experience of others. 

Wishing you every success, I am, in haste, very sincerely 

yours, 

Eliphalet Norr. 



George P. Barker. 89 



C HAPTER VIII. 

Re-appointed District Attorney — Incident — His Health — Case of Pollock — Syra- 
cuse. Convention — Mr. Barker's Last Political Speech. 

Mr. Barker was again appointed District Attorney of Erie 
County in October, 1845, but his health was so impaired as to 
occasion interruptions in the discharge of the duties of the 
office. 

He was for the last time brought before the people for an 
elective office in the spring of 1846. He was nominated by 
the democracy of the county as one of the candidates for 
election to the convention which was called to revise the con- 
stitution of this state in June of that year. The election was 
held in April, and although it was not perhaps contested on 
strict party grounds, the electors, nevertheless, generally voted 
in accordance with their political preferences. Mr. Barker 
ran ahead of his ticket, as will be seen by the following: 

H. J. Stow, whig 3'3oS George P. Barker, dem .... 2,891 

A. Bull, whig 3*265 H. H. Barney, dem 2,641 

Aaron Salisbury, whig. . . 3,299 Silas Tabor, dem 2,572 

Amos Wright, whig, 3,210 Jonathan H. Ford, dem. . . . 2,509 

His vote, though a minority one, was still creditable when 
all the attendant circumstances are considered. 

A friend of the deceased, a gentleman favorably known as 
a writer, furnishes the subjoined, which illustrates forcibly one 
of his characteristics : 

" It is easy to perceive that the public character of a man 

so conspicuous as was Mr. Barker must have been well known 

and appreciated. So frank and unguarded was his deportment 

that the characteristics of his private life were almost as gen- 

7 



90 Biographies ajtd yournalis77t. 

erally known as his public career. As he was entirely destitute 
of all pretence, he was never guilty of inconsistency. Many 
of his acts might be enumerated, which he little thought would 
ever become subjects of printed notice, and which, however 
trivial they may be deemed by superficial thinkers, prove the 
essential benevolence and generosity of his character. It is 
said of a certain lawyer that having taken a very small fee, he 
was accused by his brethren of having disgraced their profes- 
sion. He replied that he had taken little because he copld 
not get more, and that, little as it might seem, it was the 
whole worldly estate of his client. 'This,' he submitted, 
' could not be called disgracing the profession.' In such 
things, Mr. Barker might be termed a disgrace to his profes- 
sion, but an honor to mankind. He was singularly disinter- 
ested in man}' of his most strenuous exertions; and if the 
walls of the prison could tell the annals of their various 
inmates, he would be known as one who, without fee or reward 
or the hope of any, would often devote his professional and 
oratorical ability to the utmost in aiding the wretched. Nor 
was he deficient in firmness when acting in behalf of the 
public." 

As an illustration of General Barker's nobility of soul, as 
exemplifying unmistakably the characteristics I have claimed 
for him, I give the essential points of an incident as narrated 
by L. B. Proctor, Esq., in his " Bench and Bar of New York ": 

"In October, 1832, he was detained at Albany for two or 
three days, awaiting the arrival of certain persons with whom 
he had important business. At this time a Court of Oyer and 
Terminer was in session in that city, at which the late Judge 
James Vanderpoel presided. The next morning after his 
arrival, he sought the court-room for the purpose of passing 
away the time in observing the proceedings of the court. His 
route led him by the old Albany jail. Just before reaching 
that grim receptacle of crime and misery, two officers, having 
in charge a pale young man, apparently about twenty-one 



George P. Barker. 91 

years of age, came from the prison, stepped upon the walk 
directly in front of him, and moved in the same direction he 
was going. The prisoner was of middling size, slender in 
form, with agreeable, pleasant features. As he reached the 
street, the pleasant sunlight, the pure, soft air of that October 
morning seemed to exhilarate him, and his dark eyes glanced 
with something like happiness, as he lifted them to the clear 
sk)', " where all things are free." The three persons walked 
with a rapid pace towards the court-house ; they had pro- 
ceeded but a short distance, when they were met by a very 
respectably-appearing, decently-clad woman, about forty years 
of age. The moment her eyes fell upon the prisoner, she 
sprang forward and clasped him in her arms, exclaiming. 

" O George ! George! My boy! my son ! " 

The sudden appearance of the woman caused the officers 
to halt. 

" Mother, why did you not wait at the court-house for 
me?" said the prisoner, endeavoring to smother his emotions. 

"Because I did not see you there, George; and I thought 
perhaps you might not have your trial to-day, after all, and I 
started to see you at the jail. O my boy! my darling!" 
said the poor woman, her voice now broken with sobs; "are 
they going to try you now ? " 

"Yes, mother, I am to be tried to-day; but calm yourself, 
I trust all will be well with me, for God above us knows that 
I am not guilty," said the young man. 

"You guilty, George? you guilty? O no, no! you are 
not. You cannot be guilty, you are so good, so true — there — 
there now you look just as you used to when on your knees I 
taught you your first little prayer, in our dear old " — 

" Come, come, woman, stand aside, and don't hinder us any 
longer ; the young man is wanted up yonder," said one of the 
officers, pointing towards the court-house. 

" O, sir," said the woman, turning to the speaker, " do see 
that he is not injured — he is innocent, I know he is." 



92 Biographies and Jouriialisi7i. 

" How do you know that, woman?" gruffly asked the other 
officer, " may be you can swear for him." 

" Because — because I am his mother, and — and 1 taught 
him his prayers, and " — 

" Yes, yes, we know all about that. You ain't the first good 
mother that's had a bad boy for a son, a real rum one at 
that," said the first officer. " Come on, my covey. Twelve 
men have something to say about your case." 

Barker's progress was arrested by this pathetic scene, of 
which he had so singuLrly become a silent witness. Deeply 
touched by the appearance of the mother and the son, he 
followed them to the court-house. Just before ascending the 
stairs which led to the court-room the young man paused a 
moment. 

" Mother," said he, " is Mr. Aikin going to undertake my 
defense ? " 

" Not unless we pay him in advance, and — and — we have 
no money, you know." 

" O God, have mercy on me ! What shall I do ? " said the 
young man, losing control of himself in his mental agony. 

"Come along; don't stop to blubber here. The court will 
appoint some one to defend you," said one of the officers, 
seizing the prisoner by the collar, and urging him up the 
stairs, followed by his weeping, trembling mother. 

He was soon seated in the prisoners' box, to await the 
proceedings of the court. 

The young lawyer followed the officer into the court-room, 
and seated himself within the bar. He had now a better 
opportunity for observing the young man, who had recovered, 
in a measure, his composure. The pallor which overspread 
his countenance, had given way to a slight flush ; his clear eye, 
delicate and finely-molded features, bespoke intelligence, but 
not guilt. It was a face to be studied, and it was studied by 
Barker. " If that young man is guilty of any serious crime, 
then I am no judge of features," he thought. 



George P. Barker. 93 

Court had not yet opened for the day ; a few lawyers were 
in the bar ; the officers in attendance were lounging carelessly 
on the benches ; some of the jury had found their way into 
their seats, and were conversing in a low tone with one 
another, occasionally glancing at the prisoner in the box ; 
while the spectators present regarded him as a being whose 
trial was, perhaps, to afford them some amusement or pastime. 
The circumstances which surrounded him — the place he occu- 
pied — caused them to regard him as a felon who only awaited 
a trial to be sent to a felon's doom. 

Presently a loud rap announced the approach of the judge; 
the usual proclamation was made, and the court was ready for 
business. 

" Sheriff," said the district attorney, " is George Ames in 
court ? " 

" He is," was the reply. 

" I now move the trial of George Ames, indicted for burg- 
lary in the first degree," said the attorney for the people. 

" Has the prisoner counsel? " asked the judge. 

" Have you counsel, Ames?" asked the district attorney. 

" No, sir; I expected Mr. Aikin to defend me, but he refuses 
now," said the young man. 

"Why does he refuse?" asked the court. 

" Because I have no money to pay him," was the reply. 

" Then as you have no means to employ counsel, the court 
will see that you have counsel." 

Judge Vanderpoel now addressed a respectably-appearing 
lawyer present, and asked him to undertake the defense of 
Ames, but he declined, alleging that he had pressing business; 
the court then applied to another, who also declined ; finally 
there was no one in the bar who would undertake the defense. 
The judge appeared to be puzzled. 

" Gentlemen," said he, " I do not desire to compel any 
person to defend this man, but" — 

Just at this moment a small-sized, sharp-featured, shrewd 



94 Biogi'aphies and youmalis77t. 

appearing lawyer entered the bar. There was a kind of avoir- 
dupois look about him, and his eyes appeared like a pair of 
nicely-balanced scales, made for the purpose of weighing the 
amount of coin one happened to have in his possession. As 
they glanced at the person, his eyebrows were raised or low- 
ered, in proportion to what he conceived the man had in his 
pockets, and they seemed to say: " Ah, he has so much; " or, 
" Oh, he has only a — ah, let me see again, oh, yes, has only a 
very little." He was well known at the Albany bar forty 
years ago, as a thriving lawyer who forgot everything in his 
fees. 

" Mr. K.," said the judge, addressing this lawyer, " the 
court desire you to undertake the defense of George Ames, 
the prisoner at the bar." 

"Ah, yes; your honors can always command my poor ser- 
vices in that way, but I have seen the prisoner before, and I 
think in view of his circumstances — his means — I mean, the 
nature of his great offense, that he had better plead guilty and 
done with it." 

A sob of deep, heart-broken anguish, resounded through the 
court-room ; it was from the poor mother who heard in this 
the knell of her son's doom. 

" If the court please, I will undertake the defense of that 
young man," said Barker, in a voice whose tones attracted 
the attention of every one in the court-room. 

" The court are unacquainted with you, sir, and we desire 
that the prisoner should be ably defended," said the judge, in 
a tone that clearly indicated his surprise. 

" If your honors please, I said I would undertake his 
defense, and I now say that he shall be fairly, if not ably 
defended, and I say more, he shall not be convicted unless his 
guilt be made apparent." 

"Do you desire the assistance of Mr. K. ?" asked the judge. 

" No ; if your honors please, I will assume the entire respon- 
sibilitv of this defense." 



George P. Barker. 95 

The judge signified his assent. 

Edward Livingston was then District Attorney of Albany 
County. He was learned and eminent in his profession, 
eloquent at the bar, a pleasing speaker in the popular assem- 
bly, a politician of rare capacity and many executive endow- 
ments, a formidable prosecuting officer. He represented 
Albany in the legislature several years, and in 1837 was 
chosen Speaker of the Assembly, discharging the duties of 
that distinguished position with marked ability. 

Such was the man with whom the young lawyer was about 
to contend. 

" I ask your honors to postpone this trial until to-morrow 
morning, to give me an opportunity of consulting with the 
prisoner," said BARKER. 

As Mr. Livingston made no opposition to this motion, it 
was granted. 

Language cannot describe the surprise, joy and gratitude of 
the young man and his mother at this unexpected appearance 
of a defender. A short consultation with them, convinced the 
lawyer that his client was not guilty, although he was sur- 
rounded by a train of circumstances which seemed to point 
with almost indubitable certainty to him, as a young but 
hardened criminal. 

He was the only son of the poor woman present, and she 
was a widow. Their residence was at Fort Ann, in the County 
of Washington. A few days before the commission of the 
crime with which he was charged, he came to Albany for the 
purpose of obtaining employment ; here he soon made the 
acquaintance of a very friendly-appearing man, who apparently 
took much interest in him and kindly offered to assist him in 
obtaining employment. One evening he was invited by this 
friend to accompany him and examine some personal property 
which was then in a certain building that he had rented. 
Although it was quite late when this proposal was made, 
George assented. On their way, his friend overtook two 



96 Biographies and yo2i7^7ialism. 

persons with whom he was acquainted, and whom he invited 
to accompany them ; they consented ; and in a few minutes 
the young man and his companions found themselves in the 
rear of a large building. His friend now informed him that 
he greatly desired to enter the building, which was his store ; 
but as he had forgot the key, he produced a small iron bar 
which he handed to George, directing him to pry open the 
shutters to one of the windows and force his way into the 
building, promising to reward him very liberally for his trouble. 
In a moment, the young man understood that he was in the 
presence of burglars, and, horror-stricken at the thought, he 
attempted to rush from their presence ; but ere he had made 
two steps, he received a heavy blow upon the head, which 
felled him to the earth insensible. When he returned to con- 
sciousness, he was at the police office, with a bandage about 
his head. As soon as he was able to be moved, he was 
conducted before a magistrate, and his examination took place. 
From the testimony, he learned that the building was broken 
open and entered, and that he was one of the persons charged 
with the crime of breaking it open. All of the wretches 
succeeded in making their escape, excepting one who was 
arrested the next morning ; turning state's evidence, he 
implicated young Ames in the crime, alleging that he entered 
the store, that while there, he stumbled over some object and 
fell ; his head striking the corner of the counter rendered him 
insensible, that when they made their exit from the building 
they removed their wounded companion, intending to convey 
him to a place of secrecy until he recovered ; but when they 
had proceeded a few paces from the building they were alarmed 
and hastily fled, leaving him on the ground where he was 
discovered by the police. Such was the evidence of the man 
before the magistrate. 

Soon after his incarceration, George wrote to his mother; 
the poor woman came to the city, employed the lawyer who 
has been referred to, but because they had no funds to pay 



Geo7^ge P. Ba7'ker. 97 

him he abandoned the defense. By a singular intervention of 
Providence, GEORGE P. BARKER had now become his counsel. 
The story of the young man carried conviction with it, and 
aroused all the generous sympathy of the young lawyer's 
nature. Ascertaining the name of the surgeon who dressed 
the wound of Ames, he immediately called upon him ; he was 
a gentleman of intelligence and skill ; he distinctly recollected 
the circumstance of dressing the prisoner's head, and the 
nature of his wound, and did not hesitate to state that it 
could not have been inflicted by a fall — that it must have been 
the result of a blow from a club or some heavy instrument. 

The next morning the trial began. Mr. Livingston con- 
ducted the prosecution with great ability ; he firmly believed 
the prisoner guilty, and therefore omitted nothing that tended 
to convict him. Entering upon the trial without any intro- 
duction to the young stranger who thus singularly became his 
opponent, he did not stop to consider or care who he was. 
The case, however, had proceeded but a short time before he 
was aware that he had no common intellect to deal with, and 
he conceived a high respect for him, whoever he might be. 

The cross-examination of the convict witness was most 
searching and effectual. The keen eyes of BARKER seemed 
to pierce his very soul ; from the commencement to the end 
they were not removed from him. At first, he sustained 
himself with a balance and composure which seemed to baffle 
his interrogator, but at length he stumbled, hesitated, and 
became confused, and when he left the witness box, it was 
evident that his testimony had been materially shaken. The 
cross-examination of the proprietor of the store which had 
been entered, elicited the fact that no blood was found in 
the store; that the corner of the counter against which the 
witness had testified Ames had fallen, did not exhibit the 
least appearance of any such occurrence. The officer, who 
first discovered the prisoner, on his cross-examination testified 



98 Biographies and you7^nalism. 

that on the spot where his head rested a large pool of blood 
had gathered. 

At length the district attorney rested. Barker, in a short, 
plain and concise statement, presented the theory of his 
defense to the jury. The only witness whom he called was 
the surgeon, whose evidence corresponded with the statement 
he had previously made, establishing the fact that the wound 
on the head of Ames could not have been made as the witness 
for the people had sworn^ — that it was inflicted by a club, or 
some heavy instrument, and he gave his reasons on whichiiis 
opinion was founded, clearly and intelligibly. 

With this evidence, the young lawyer rested his case and 
went to the jury. In his whole subsequent professional career, 
he never made a more successful or a more brilliant defense. 
In the language of one of the journals of the day, " his 
summing up of the evidence was a splendid effort." Many of 
the jurors were present when he made his generous offer to 
defend the prisoner, and they were conscious that he was 
acting from the sympathy and generosity of his nature ; they 
therefore believed him sincere in his statements. He con- 
tended that there was no evidence whatever against the young 
man, except that he was found wounded near the place where 
the crime was committed — that the uncorroborated evidence 
of the convict witness was not sufficient to convict ; besides, 
that witness was contradicted by the surgeon, and also the 
circumstances. He dwelt with much emphasis upon the fact 
that no blood was discovered in the store, because the wound 
was of such a nature that it must have bled copiously when 
it was first received. That a large quantity of blood was dis- 
covered under his head when found by the officer, established 
the fact that he received the blow where he fell ; especially as 
there was no evidence that blood was found in any other place. 

Those who knew George P. Barker, can well under- 
stand the nature of his address and its effect upon the jury. 
Mr. Livingston's reply was all that could be expected from a 



George P. Barker. 99 

lawyer so distinguished ; but the defense of his opponent had 
taken him by surprise ; it was an effort which would have 
been creditable to the most eminent member of the Albany 
bar, and he saw that it had made an impression upon the jury. 
His argument was keen, searching, and profound. The charge 
of Judge Vanderpoel was, as the charges of that learned and 
able judge always were, a close adhesion to the law and his 
dut}', impartially and fairly discharged. 

The jury retired, and after an hour's absence, returned into 
court with a verdict of not guilty. The great, the rich reward 
of Barker was the almost frantic joy with which the verdict 
was received by the mother and son. 

" The God of the widow and the orphan has sent you to us, 
sir, in our distress, and His blessing will descend upon you 
through all your days. We have no money with which to 
reward you ; I have seen better days, but now I can only 
thank you from the very depth of my heart of hearts," said 
Mrs. Ames, on taking leave of Mr. Barker. 

" Some time I shall reward you for what you have done for 
me," said young Ames ; the glittering drops which stood in 
his eyes, evidenced his deep gratitude ; and thus mother and 
son took their leave of their generous benefactor. 

Years passed away, and this event was nearly forgotten by 
Barker, in the vicissitudes of his professional and political 
life. One morning in the winter of 1836, while he was 
member of assembly, a well-dressed, gentlemanly-appearing 
man called at his room in Albany. 

" Do you not remember me, Mr. Barker?" said he. 

" I do not," was the reply. 

"My name is Ames — George Ames — whom you once 
defended against a serious charge in this city," said the man. 

Another glance at his visitor convinced Barker that the 
prisoner whom he had defended for burglary, at Albany, was 
before him. 



lOO Biographies and yournalisni. 

" I learned that you were in the city, and I could not refrain 
from calling upon you," said Ames. 

He then in a few words informed his benefactor that he was 
a well-to-do farmer, that fortune had smiled upon him and 
given him prosperity. After conversing a half hour, he arose 
to take his leave. 

" Here is a small package which my mother, my wife, and 
myself have made up for you. Do not open it until I have 
left — I trust it will convince you that my words to you have 
not been forgotten." 

He took his leave and Barker opened the package ; to his 
surprise, he found it contained a bank-bill for two hundred 
dollars. 

Ames and his defender have both passed beyond the trials 
of earth ; but a son of the former still survives, who treasures 
the name of GEORGE P. BARKER with a sort of poetic 
reverence. To him the author is indebted for one of the most 
touching and agreeable incidents in the life of a distinguished 
lawyer. The trial which has been described resulted in a life 
friendship between Livingston and Barker." 

The writer will always remember the words of a colored 
man, whom Mr. BARKER assisted, but who underwent the 
extreme penalty of the law. "Mr. Barker," said he, "gives 
me his heart — he gives me himself. I have nothing to pay 
him with, but if I were the richest man in the country, he 
could not be more attentive to me, or exert himself more in 
my behalf." Such deeds as these form his epitaph, and when 
the recording angel shall contradict the words on many an 
ostentatious tomb-stone, these so slightly known shall duly 
appear, as lawyers say, to have been "placed on record." 

The last words I heard him utter were when, passing 
hurriedly through the hall, being busily occupied in the dis- 
charge of his laborious duties as district attorney, a poor 
woman stopped him and pleaded poverty as a reason why the 
county should not press a certain claim against her. Many 



Geor£e P. Barker. loi 



i. 



men would have given a hasty or petuhmt answer. But he 
stopped patiently, and in the mild and kind tones of the voice 
we so well remember, giving each word its deliberate emphasis, 
assured her that " if she was so poor as she said she was, he 
would see that the county should deal leniently with her." 

How many to whom this notice may appear too trivial for 
publication, will read it and coolly say or think, "Well, that 
was just Barker's way;" whilst he who accurately observes 
and reflects upon the nature of mankind will be reminded, in 
words similar to those of Voltaire, that " these may be little 
matters, but the}^ portray the character." 

It now seems appropriate, that I should advert to Mr. 
Barker's health, which about this time began sensibly to fail. 
From 1833 (as I am informed by Dr. Charles VVinne, who was 
for several years his attending physician), he was subject to 
frequent attacks of colic. His natural buoyancy of disposi- 
tion and zeal in the professional engagements which a large 
private business and official duties pressed upon him, caused 
him to disregard generally the injurious effects of great mental 
and bodily exertion in a depressed state of health. During 
the winter, spring and summer of 1846 all the symptoms of 
disease seemed to be aggravated and his health was evidently 
much impaired. Although he made extraordinary and injuri- 
ous efforts to attend to his professional duties, he was subject 
to repeated interruptions from the failure of his bodily strength. 
On the nineteenth of September, 1846, while in court, he was 
seized with a convulsive fit of nearly half an hour's duration, 
followed by heavy sleep. He was at the time removed from 
the court-room to the jury-room in the same building, and the 
necessary medical aid was rendered. In some two hours from 
the time of the seizure he was so far recovered as to be able 
to be removed to the Mansion House, where he boarded with 
his family. His recovery from the eff"ects of this shock was 
slow, but it promised to be perfect. His mental faculties were 
not perceptibly impaired in their clearness, but there seemed 



I02 Biographies and yournalis77t. 

ever after in his best state of health to be a depression that 
depreciated their force and effectiveness. This was more 
obvious after a recurrence of a similar attack, on the twentieth 
of March, 1847. This followed a protracted labor in court of 
four weeks duration, in which many exciting causes were tried, 
and his convalescence was consequently very slow. He con- 
tinued quite feeble up to the time of leaving Buffalo on a 
journey. He was also subject to great depression of spirits, 
and his mental faculties, though still clear, partook in a measure 
of the feebleness of his body. In the early part of June, 1847, 
increased debility and a threatened renewal of spasms induced 
him, at the solicitation of his friends, to withdraw from business 
and its cares and seek for renewed health in traveling. He 
accordingly proceeded to Litchfield and Norwich, Connecticut, 
where he spent some time among Mrs. Barker's relatives ; he 
proceeded thence to Rindge, and visited his mother, and from 
thence to Halifax, where he spent much time at the fishing 
banks. During this time his health very much improved. 
He was subject to no sickness, except a brief period of pain 
from the accident of dislocating his shoulder while on a fishing 
excursion. His wonted cheerfulness returned, and with it the 
hope that he could again pursue the profession he loved. He 
returned to Buffalo in August, and received the hearty con- 
gratulations of his friends on his restored health and improved 
appearance. He at once resumed the duties of his profession 
and of pro.secuting attorney (of which latter duties he had 
been kindly relieved by volunteering friends), but it was soon 
perceptible that a few weeks exertion had destroyed all that 
he had gained during his absence. 

One of the last forensic efforts of Mr. Barker was during 
the trial of a young midshipman named William W. Pollock, 
for attempting the life of Mr. Elam R. Jewett, one of the 
publishers of the Buffalo Connncrcial Advertiser. The cause 
was tried in Buffalo, at the September term of the Circuit 
Court, before Hon. R. P. Marvin. It naturally excited deep 



George P. Barker, 103 

interest throughout the city, and the court-room was thronged 
during its continuance. In the Buffalo Republic, I find the 
following sketch : 

" After considerable difficulty attendant upon getting a jury, 
one at last was obtained. When they were sworn, District 
Attorney BARKER, in a style peculiar to himself, and with his 
accustomed eloquence, opened the case to the jury. 

" He said the case was one of much interest and importance. 
This description of offense was one of the worst against the 
peace and security of society. The prisoner at the bar was 
charged with attempting the life of Mr. E. R. Jewett, one of 
the publishers of the Commercial Advertiser. The prisoner 
had occupied a responsible station in community. He had no 
personal feeling to gratify, or malice against the prisoner, but 
was actuated only by a desire to discharge to the best of his 
ability and with fearlessness his duty as prosecuting attorney. 
Hon. Millard Fillmore, made an eloquent address in behalf of 
the prisoner, after which Mr. BARKER followed for the people. 
He did not doubt that Mr. Fillmore felt as he ought (for he 
was the counsel of the prisoner) the importance of the verdict 
of the jury to him. He had feelings of sympathy with his 
fellow-citizens. His was an unpleasant duty to discharge; 
but believing, as he did, that there had not occurred in the 
County of Erie a case the effect of an acquittal in which would 
be fraught with more serious consequences to the well-being 
of society, he should discharge his duty fearlessly and fully. 
What, gentlemen of the jury, are the facts of this case? why, 
this Wm. W, Pollock, the prisoner at the bar, has resided a 
year or more in our city; from some feelings of resentment at 
the publication of an article reflecting, as he thought, too 
harshly on his character, came into the counting-room of Mr. 
Jewett, and after asking him a few questions regarding the 
responsibility of the article in question, fired a pistol at him 
which he drew from beneath his cloak, and but for the provi- 
dential interference of a pocket-book and its contents, which 



104 Biograpku's and yoiirnalism. 

stood between him and his intended victim, would have taken 
his Hfe. This was performed in broad daylight. It was a deed 
that would have been more appropriate if committed at the 
South, where such offenses are winked at by juries; but it 
wanted the Southern chivalry of the thing. It was as cowardly 
as unprovoked. Suppose the prisoner at the bar had been an 
unbefriended and unknown personage, would we hav.e seen this 
array of distinguished counsel ; this tremendous effort made 
to clear him ? No, had it been such a case, the prisoner would 
have been convicted and sentenced in a single day. The 
charge had been too often made, that persons who had wealthy 
and influential friends had frequently escaped with impunity, 
while the friendless and destitute, even if they were innocent, 
found a ready conviction. 

" He trusted that in this case, guilt would not be permitted 
to shield itself behind talent, however exalted it might be. 
See what a respectable physician testifies : ' If the shot had 
taken effect in the artery, near which it hit, death would have 
been the result.' Is he not responsible for the consequences 
of the act ? Did he not know what would result from the 
firing of the pistol at Mr. Jewett's body? According to 
Mr. Fillmore's argument, a man must understand the laws of 
anatomy perfectly, before he can be convicted of a crime like 
the one the prisoner was charged with ; he must attend four 
or five courses of medical lectures. It was owing to no act or 
merit of the prisoner, that he was not tried for murder, his 
intention was good enough. Did he not select the weapon 
which is regarded among all nations as the most deadly — 
the most murderous for such an object? Was not the prisoner 
in a hurry to kill his victim, for fear of interruption from those 
in the store at the time? After he tried to shoot Mr. Jewett, 
did he not attempt to escape ? Did this show guilt or 
innocence ? Was he not acquainted with the instrument he 
fired? What was his intention in firing? That is for you to 
determine, gentlemen of the jury. The prisoner felt injured 



Geo7^gc P. Barker. 105 

from a certain article which appeared in Mr. Jewett's paper. 
Acting on that feeling he sought him in his counting-room, 
weapon in hand, and attempted his life. The verdict they 
were to render in this case would exercise a great influence on 
public opinion, 'llie character adduced for Mr. Pollock by 
the high-minded and gentlemanly officers of the steamer 
Michigan was of an irrelevant nature. He asked the jury 
how they could go beyond the evidence, and admit in extenua- 
tion the previous good character of the prisoner." 

It is but justice to Mr. Pollock, that I should state that 
though he was convicted and sentenced to the state prison 
at Auburn, he was, after a short time, pardoned by Governor 
Young. The principal reason for so doing was the good 
character of Mr. Pollock previous to committing the deed for 
which he was tried and convicted. 

I come now to speak of the Syracuse Democratic State 
Convention of 1847. ^^ w^^' without doubt, one of the most 
important political bodies ever convened in the Union. It 
was an extraordinary assemblage, whether the character of 
the men who composed it, or the momentous consequences 
which resulted from its deliberations are considered. Mr. 
Barker was appointed hy a county convention of the demo- 
cracy as one of the four delegates to represent Erie County. 
His associates were Messrs. H. B. Ransom, Stephen Holmes 
and Isaac Potter. It is perhaps proper to mention that the 
seats of Mr. Barker and Mr. Potter were contested, but after 
submitting the facts to a committee of opposite views they 
were admitted as the regular members. The part Mr. Barker 
took in the proceedings of the convention was the last 
occasion in which he acted as a representative of his political 
friends. His health was precarious, but he yielded to their 
urgent solicitations and accepted the appointment. The 
subject of the convention had attracted much attention 
throughout the state. The great democratic party of the 
state was divided. That party that for years had maintained 



io6 Biog7'aphies and Jotirnalisin. 

the ascendancy in the state, and had contributed liberally to 
swell the national triumphs of the democracy, was rent in 
twain by dissensions. Democratic presses were arrayed against 
each other, and discussed the relative claims of the candidates 
with less courtesy and fairness than in speaking of their 
opponents. The convention assembled on the morning of 
the twenty-ninth of September, 1847. Rarely has such a 
body convened in this Union. Although it was called simply 
to nominate state officers, it attracted as large a concourse 
as if its objects were national. The capacious hall of the 
Empire House presented a scene worthy of a more graphic 
and brilliant description than I can give. Some of the most 
distinguished politicians of the two sections of the democracy 
of the state were there ; those chieftains who had so often 
led the democratic hosts to battle and victory were there ; 
those veterans who had fought long and gallantly for Jackson 
and Van Buren were there. On the side of the friends of 
Mr. Flagg were many politicians distinguished for their elo- 
quence, their skill in debate, knowledge of parliamentary 
customs, sarcasm and wit. Prominent among them was 
John Van Buren. This gentleman has attained so high a 
reputation as an orator, as to render any eulogy from me a 
work of supererogation. Suffice it to say that he displayed 
during the four days sitting of the convention, that elegance 
and force as a speaker, that brilliant and unrivaled sarcasm 
and humor, that pungency and aptness of illustration which 
so pre-eminently distinguished him. Preston King, on the 
same side, added greatly to the strength of his friends by his 
fine powers as a debater and skill as a manager. Churchill 
C. Cambreleng, Martin Grover, George Rathbun, James S. 
Wadsworth, David Dudley Field, William C. Grain, James C. 
Smith and James R. Doolittle, are each worthy of a notice, 
but my limits forbid. 

That section of the party who were not in favor of Mr. 
Flagg's nomination nor of the distinctive principles of his 



George P. Barker. 107 

friends, was well represented on this occasion. There was the 
eloquent James T. Brady and Robert H. Morris, of New York. 
There, too, were those adroit managers, Rufus W. Peckham, 
Horatio Seymour, John Stryker, Squier Utley, John Cramer 
and Ausburn Birdsall. There were other members who con- 
curred with these last-named gentlemen politically, deserving 
of notice, but I cannot do so, for reasons before stated. The 
Press was also well represented. Edwin Croswell, of the Argus, 
the ablest political editor in America, and that accomplished 
writer, Cassidy, of the Atlas, were there. The Tribune and 
Herald, and other papers of influence, had reporters on the 
spot. The hall was crowded with spectators, and great 
interest was constantly felt in the proceedings. Much of the 
time of the convention was occupied with discussions on the 
disputed seats. The debates were of a nature well calculated 
to elicit eloquence, sarcasm, wit and retort. But I cannot 
dwell upon them. The general results of the convention are 
well known and their repetition is unnecessary. Mr. Barker's 
course during the two days he was present was in strict accord- 
ance with the wishes of those he represented. Although firm 
and decided, he was at the same time courteous and kind to 
his opponents. On one or two occasions he briefly addressed 
the convention, but his health was such as to prevent his 
acquitting himself with his accustomed ability. The conven- 
tion continued its sitting until two o'clock on Sunday morning, 
October 3d, but Mr. Barker was compelled by business en- 
gagements to return on the ist. He left as his substitute Mr. 
Oliver Patch, a gentleman who possesses considerable tact as 
a politician and remarkable energy. 

The last political speech Mr. Barker made was on the even- 
ing of October 20, 1847. ^ meeting of his political friends in 
Buffalo was called for the purpose of considering the action of 
the Syracuse convention, and to appoint a delegate to attend 
the mass meeting to be held at Herkimer. The court-house 
was crowded to its utmost capacity, and after having been 



io8 Biographies and yotirnalism. 

enthusiastically called for, he rose and for nearly two hours 
enchained the audience by the vigor of his appeals and the 
splendor of his diction. The fire of his youth seemed renewed. 
He reviewed with masterly ability the proceedings of the con- 
vention, and pointed out with great clearness and force the 
proper course to be pursued under the circumstances. He pro- 
nounced himself entirely and strongly in favor of confining 
slavery to its present limits. In short, he declared himself 
unequivocally in favor of the principles advocated by the sec- 
tion of the party to which he was attached. The speeclr he 
made on the occasion to which I refer will long be remem- 
bered by those who had the good fortune to hear it, as one 
of his very finest efforts. It was, as I said before, his last 
political speech ! 



1 



George P. Barker. 109 



CHAPTER IX. 

Alarming State of his Health — His Death — Proceedings in the Recorder's Court 
— Meeting of the Bar — His Funeral — His General Characteristics — Eulogies — 
Funeral Sermon of John C. Lord, D. D. 

It now became painfully evident to Mr. Barker's friends 
that his health was rapidly declining. A crisis was in fact 
approaching. His fine countenance had become sadly changed 
by disease. The glow had left his cheek. The luster had 
faded from his eye, and the smile which was wont to play upon 
his lips had departed. His whole appearance presented a 
marked contrast with the brief period of his convalescence. 
These unfavorable symptoms were witnessed with alarm. He 
was forced to relinquish further attendance on courts about 
the middle of November, 1847. The last cause he argued was 
in the Supreme Court at Buffalo. In consequence of the elec- 
tion of Mr. Sill to the Supreme Court bench, the partnership 
which had existed between Messrs. Barker and Sill was dis- 
solved in July, 1847, ^'"'d Mr. Sill left the practice. From that 
period until his death Mr. Barker was associated with George 
Coit, Jr., Esq., in the practice of the law. Among others who 
kindly volunteered to assist Mr. BARKER in discharging the 
duties of district attorney, during the precarious state of his 
health, was Benjamin H. Austin, Esq. This gentleman was 
elected by the people to the office he now holds, in the spring 
of 1847, ^t the first judicial election under the new constitu- 
tion. Shortly after his withdrawal from court, Mr. BARKER 
was confined to his house, and a nervous, lingering fever set in. 
The utmost solicitude was felt throughout the state as to the 
prospects of his ultimate restoration to health, and attentive 
friends made repeated and anxious inquiries concerning his 



iio Biographies a?id yoiwnalisvt. 

progress. They were alternately elated by favorable and 
depressed by unfavorable accounts. The city papers once 
announced, b}' authority, his probable speedy recovery. In a 
{c\\ days they contained the melancholy announcement of his 
death ! Notwithstanding the best medical skill, and the most 
kind and assiduous attention, he constantly failed, until death 
relieved his sufferings, on Thursday, the twenty-seventh of 
January, 1848, at quarter before ii A. M., in the 41st year of 
his age. He exhibited resignation during his entire sickness, 
and in the terminating scenes of his earthly career displayed 
great fortitude. 

Deep sympathy was manifested everywhere as the intelli- 
gence of his demise was communicated. The feeling of regret 
was universal. It was not confined to formal notices from 
courts, nor to eulogies from his professional brethren, who con- 
ceived an ornament to their profession had fallen ; but the 
merchant in his counting-house, the mechanic in his shop, the 
laborer leaning over his hod, and the sons of agriculture, heard 
the annunciation with unfeigned sorrow. The press teemed 
with feeling eulogies, and on every side were observed mani- 
festations of regret. 

The Recorder's Court, Hon. Joseph G. Masten, presiding, 
was in session at the time of his death, and upon its assem- 
bling in the afternoon, Solomon G. Haven, Esq., announced 
the melancholy event in the following appropriate and feeling 
manner : 

" May it please the Court : I rise to make a motion — one 
that a short time ago no member of this bar could foresee it 
would be his duty to make. Our friend — the friend of the 
whole bar — Gen. Barker is dead. It pleased an All-wise 
Providence to take him hence, and he died this morning at 
fifteen minutes past eleven o'clock, at his residence on Eagle 
street, in this city. He was not only the leading counselor of 
this court, but a leading counselor of this state, and one who, 
in the true spirit of a lawyer, devoted his life to the profession. 



George P. Barker. 1 1 1 

" He was a man of learning, of genius, of eloquence, of 
honesty, of unsullied honor, and of great and varied ability. 
His heart was with his fellow-men, and his sympathies with 
the oppressed. 

" His death in the prime of his years will not only be 
mourned by his family and connections, and by us his neigh- 
bors and friends, but will be felt throughout the whole state 
and chronicled throughout the Union. 

" How often have all who hear me sat in this place and 
been charmed by his eloquence and admired his ability? 
Nothing but kindness and courtesy ever marked his intercourse 
with us. And I am sure nothing but the deepest sorrow is 
felt by us all on account of this infliction. 

" I cannot now, with the reflection of this event upon me, 
pronounce his eulogy ; the event itself speaks home to all of us 
who knew him. I can only announce his death, and move as 
I do — on account of the profound respect we all feel for his 
memory and the emotions we all possess from the recollections 
of this great loss — that this court do now adjourn." 

A meeting of the members of the bar was held immediately 
after the adjournment of the court, and Hon. J. G. Masten was 
called to the chair and C. H. S. Williams, Esq., appointed 
secretary. 

On motion of Dyre Tillinghast, Esq., a committee of seven 
was appointed to draft resolutions expressive of their deep 
regret at the mournful death of Mr, Barker and for making 
arrangements for the taking of proper action with reference to 
attending his funeral. 

The following gentlemen were named as the committee : 
Dyre Tillinghast, H. J. Stow, S. E. Sill, George R. Babcock, 
J. G. Masten, Eli Cook. 

The adjourned meeting of the bar was held in the evening. 
Hon. J. G. Masten was called to the chair and O. H. Marshall, 
Esq., appointed secretary. The committee appointed at the 
previous meeting to consider what action it was necessary to 



1 1 2 Biographies and yournalism. . 

take upon the death of their late associate, reported through 
their chairman the following preamble and resolutions, which 
were unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, It hath pleased an All-wise Providence in the 
dispensation of His power, to strike down in our midst by the 
hand of death, in the very prime of life, our late brother, 
George P. Barker — a brother whose high-minded and hon- 
orable bearing made him an exemplar worthy of all imitation ; 
whose varied learning and sterling integrity placed him in 
various public trusts at home, and finally advanced him, at an 
early age, to the elevated and honorable position of attorney- 
general, in which he commanded universal confidence and 
esteem, and discharged its duties with equal honor to himself 
and the state ; one in whom there was no guile ; whose whole 
soul was devoted to the amelioration of the condition of his 
fellow-men ; the exertion of whose giant intellect imparted 
instruction to all, and whose eloquence, whether in the social 
circle or the arena of forensic debate, was alike charming ; 
therefore, 

" Resolved, That we have heard the announcement of the 
death of our departed brother, with the most poignant grief 
and sorrow. In his death, his family have suffered a bereave- 
ment irreparable ; the social circle has been deprived of a 
most interesting member ; the legal profession has lost one 
of its brightest ornaments, and the free institutions of our 
country a most faithful and powerful champion. 

" Resolved, That we tender to his mourning family the con- 
dolence of our heartfelt sympathies in their most afflicting 
bereavement. 

" Resolved, That we will, as a testimonial of our regard for 
the memory of the deceased, attend his funeral in a body from 
his late residence on Monday next, and that we will wear the 
usual badge of mourning for thirty days. 

" Resolved, That a copy of the proceedings of this meeting 



I 



George P. Barker. 1 1 3 

be presented to the Recorder's Court of the City of Buffalo, 
at its present session and to the Supreme Court, in Erie 
County, with a request that they may be entered upon their 
respective records. 

"■Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings be presented 
to the family of the deceased. 

"■Resolved, That a committee of thirteen and the chairman 
of this meeting, be appointed to make and execute such 
arrangements as may be deemed appropriate for the occasion." 

The following persons were announced to compose the com- 
mittee under the last resolution : Dyre Tillinghast, Hon. S. E. 
Sill, Hon. J. G. Masten, Hon. F. P. Stevens, Hon. H. J. Stow, 
Hon. H. K. Smith, B. H. Austin, G. R. Babcock, S. Caldwell, 
T. T. Sherwood, E. Ford, S. G. Austin, S. G. Haven, H. B. 
Potter. 

His funeral took place on the Monday succeeding his death. 
In accordance with the wishes of Mr. Barker, all unnecessary 
display was avoided. His remains were taken at two o'clock 
in the afternoon, from his late residence on West Eagle street, 
under the direction of a committee of the bar, to the North 
Presbyterian Church. The streets through which the proces- 
sion passed were thronged with sympathizing spectators. The 
spacious church itself was crowded almost to suffocation, and 
numbers were unable to obtain admittance. Intense grief was 
depicted on each countenance in the vast audience. Each 
individual seemed to have lost a near and dear friend. There 
were those present who had known and loved him for years. 
The oldest and most substantial, the middle-aged and the 
youth of our citizens were well represented. John C. Lord, 
D. D., was very appropriately selected to pronounce the funeral 
discourse. He had been the associate and intimate friend of 
Mr. Barker in early life, and though separated in after-life, 
by their different professions, still entertained for him warm 
feelings of friendship and regard. In compliance with a very 



114 Biographies a7id yoiirnalisni. 

general request, I have obtained the reverend gentleman's per- 
mission to publish his discourse entire. It adds fresh laurels 
to the reputation of its distinguished author, and is a feeling 
and beautiful tribute to the memory of his departed friend. 

Mr. Barker's remains, upon the conclusion of the exercises, 
were followed by a large number of mourners in carriages and 
on foot, to the burial-ground in the upper part of the city a 
little east of Main street, where they were deposited. 

The appearance of Mr. Barker was very dignified and 
graceful; his person, over six feet in height, was well developed 
and muscular without being robust; his eyes were of a deep 
gray color ; his features, regular in their outline and faultless in 
proportion, suggested a similarity to classic models. 

He was an affectionate husband and kind father. In the 
selection of a partner for life he was peculiarly fortunate. 
Mrs. Barker, by her devotion to her husband, her elegant man- 
ners and domestic virtues, gained the esteem and secured the 
regard of all who knew her. Her irreparable loss in the death 
of her husband was universally commiserated. Their union 
was blessed with two promising children, a son and daughter. 
The former is now about thirteen and the latter seven years 
of age. 

As a citizen, Mr. Barker was greatly beloved. His kind 
and polished manners ; his unbounded generosity ; his dis- 
interestedness and magnanimity made him a general favorite. 
His integrity was unquestioned ; his honor unsullied. Avarice 
found no place in his bosom. He estimated his compeers in 
life not by their social position or worldly possessions, but by 
those qualities which ennoble man. He performed good 
actions not for the ephemeral applause they secured, but from 
the love of them. He knew the luxury of doing good. He- 
was frank and courageous. He neither sought concealment 
or shrunk from consequences. His views on all subjects, 
affecting the interests of the city, were enlarged and liberal, 



George P. Barker. 1 1 5 

and in all public stations he ever consulted the general good 
in preference to his own aggrandizement. 

His intellect was superior to any office he ever filled. His 
judgment was acute ; his energy and industry uncommon ; 
his acquirements varied and extensive, and his oratorical 
powers seldom equalled. The music of his voice ; the 
animated expression of his fine features ; his wonderful 
command of language ; his gorgeous imagery and his pre- 
possessing and dignified mein, will be retained in the memories 
of thousands. He was not devoid of ambition. But it was 
not of a selfish kind. He did not justify the maxim that 
" the end justifies the means." In all public stations he 
sustained himself with distinguished honor. 

Did my limits admit, I could fill a volume with eulogies 
that have been pronounced upon his social and intellectual 
qualities. 

William Cullen Bryant, the poet of America, in the following 
lines, briefly but elegantly alludes to his deceased friend and 
political associate : " General BARKER was a man of fine 
talents and agreeable social qualities ; his career as a public 
man was highly honorable, alike to his abilities, his integrity 
and his courage." 

In a late number of the Albany Argus, its gifted editor 
says: "A biography of General BARKER will be read with 
interest by his numerous friends, and will be a deserved 
tribute to the character and public services of one of the most 
gifted men of our state. If there were party or personal 
feeling at any time, these have passed away, and those who 
knew the deceased only remembered the noble and brilliant 
qualities for which he was distinguished." 

Mr. Hammond, in his able "political history," thus feelingly 
speaks: " Mr. Barker's 'impulses' were always of the most 
kind and generous character. His heart overflowed with 
benevolence to all men, and he was beloved by all. Alas I 
he has now gone to the grave. We do not believe the man 



I 1 6 Biog7'aphies and you7'nalisin. 

is now living who will acknowledge himself to have been 
personally unfriendly to GEORGE P. Barker." 

No monument yet points to the visitor where all that was 
mortal of Mr. BARKER reposes. This omission should be 
supplied. The marble column should be raised over his ashes, 
as a monument of his public efforts and genius. His memory 
will be cherished without, and his good deeds will be per- 
petuated, but its erection will reflect credit on the " Queen 
City of the Lakes," and be an act of justice to the memory of 
a distinguished citizen. 

I here give in full, from the original manuscript, the 
funeral discourse, delivered on the occasion of the death of 
General George P. Barker, at the North Presbyterian 
Church, on the thirty -first day of January, 1848, by 
John C. Lord, D. D. : 



George P. Barker. 117 



SERMON 



" My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand and I brake 
the jaws of the wicked and plucked the spoil out of his teeth ; unto me men gave 
ear and waited and kept silence at my counsel, and they waited for me as for the 
rain, and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain ; I chose out their 
way and sat chief and dwelt as a king in the army, as one that comforleth the 
mourners, and now my soul is poured out upon me, the days of affliction have 
taken hold upon me." — Job xxix : 20, 17, 2i, 23, 25 ; xxx : 16. 

These words were uttered more than four thousand years 
since by the Patriarch Job in the ancient Arabia. The lapse 
of forty centuries has not varied the conditions of human life, 
or changed the character of the family of man, or materially 
mitigated the calamities and sorrows which are our perpetual 
inheritance in the pilgrimage of time. Across the chasm of 
one hundred and twenty generations there come to us the 
prolonged echoes of the lamentations of the primitive races — 
of the brevity of life — the mutability of fortune — of the vanity 
of temporal hopes and earthly distinctions. The lessons wc 
learn in bereavements like the one which has assembled us 
to-day, have been taught from the beginning, have been 
mournfully echoed from one age to another, and the sum of 
the teaching and testimony of all experience is comprehended 
in the brief but expressive words of inspiration " verily man 
at his best estate is altogether vanity." The record of the 
greatest of monarchs and the wisest of men who knew the 
sum of all that can be conferred by wisdom, wealth or power, 
"vanity of vanities, all is vanity" has never been impeached 
by his successors or contradicted by subsequent experiences 
in the paths of glory and greatness. Poets, orators and 
historians, have ever drawn the same picture of human life. 



ii8 Biographies and yoiirnalism. 

of its uncertainty, its vicissitudes, its sorrows, its brevity. 
From the beginning, from the time of the apostacy, from the 
day on which the flaming sword of the Cherubim flashed 
across the gates of Eden, guarding the avenue to the tree of 
life and barring forever all re-entrance to the terrestrial 
paradise, life and death have been in perpetual antagonism, 
ever in proximity, ever warring, and in this confused struggle 
in which death is always at the last victor, men have ever 
been warned of their false confidences and directed to higher 
hopes, to nobler aspirations, to another and better life. 

What sum of human history is in these words — Life and 
Death ! what images and contrasts are suggested by them. 
Life is a crowded city — Death a solitary desert ; Life is a 
glorious landscape of river and forest, of mountain and valley 
wherein appear active forms innumerable, full of the "joyous 
sense of being " — Death is the dead sea in which no living 
thing moves, over which no bird of the air flies and around 
which are barren rocks, relieved by no verdure and upon which 
descendeth neither rain nor dew. Whatever is dark, desolate 
or dreary we connect with death, whatever is bright, active, 
and joyous with life. Pestilence, famine and the sword are 
the emblems of the one, health, plenty and peace are the 
symbols of the other. With the idea of death we join deform- 
ity, decay and dissolution, with that of life, beauty, vigor and 
happiness. So natural and permanent are these impressions 
in the mind of man, that God has made them the signs and 
shadows of the diverse conditions in the life to come. Life is 
the symbol of the heavenly state ; to enter upon life, in the 
phraseology of Scripture, is to come to the heavenly city, to 
enter its gates of pearl ; to walk its golden streets ; to repose 
by its rivers of blessedness ; to unite with the redeemed throng 
in that eternal anthem of angels and the spirits of just men 
made perfect, around the throne of God, which fills the arches 
of heaven with ravishing melody. On the other hand, death 
is the symbol of the perdition of ungodly men ; the image of 



Geo7'ge P. Barker. 119 

the horrors of hell ; the emblem of that condition of separation 
and banishment where their worm dieth not and their fire is 
not quenched ; where over the children of lust and pride 
despair and darkness reign with an unchangeable dominion. 
In our present state of being the conditions of another life 
and of a world to come can only be communicated under 
sensible images ; the soul, while a tenant of its earthly taber- 
nacle, must behold, " as in a glass darkly," eternal realities 
through temporal and material resemblances; soever in the 
Scriptures the seen and finite is made the example and shadow 
of the unseen and unchangeable. In the visible heavens the 
glory of the invisible is shadowed forth ; in the darkness and 
corruption of the grave is the symbol of the place of final 
doom ; in natural life is found the type of that which is eternal ; 
in natural death the emblem of that which is spiritual and 
unending. 

To secure the life that now is, what sacrifices are made, 
what perils endured, what efforts undertaken ; what proclama- 
tions of remedies from a thousand sources and from every 
quarter for the diseases which are the ministers of the King of 
Terrors, while, at the farthest, life can be prolonged but for a 
brief season and Death comes at last with his ghastly retinue, 
and suddenly not less than certainly ; for while to the varied 
forms of animal and vegetable life there is usually a season 
and a day, yet man knoweth not the number of his appointed 
months nor the bounds that he cannot pass; the Son of man 
Cometh in such an hour as we think not — at midnight is 
heard the startling cry, " Behold, the Bridegroom cometh ! " 

And though men cannot avoid the evidences of change and 
death which are above, beneath and around them, which are 
common to every age and witnessed by every generation, yet 
they seek to avoid the appropriate impression, they disregard 
too often the solemn lessons of the Divine providence, they 
turn away not only from the warnings of death and judgment, 
but also, alas ! from the invitation of the gospel and the 



I 20 Biog7'aphies and yournalism. 

promise of eternal life through the crucified Redeemer who 
carried our griefs and upon whom the chastisement of our 
peace was laid when He trod the " wine-press of God's wrath 
alone, and of the people there was none with Him." Men do 
not love to be reminded of their guilt or their mortality ; they 
walk in a vain show, they call their lands after their own 
names, they devise, and labor, and build as though they were 
to live here forever; they dream of an indefinite future in time, 
though standing ever by the gates of eternity; they boast 
themselves of to-morrow, though always at the grave's mouth ; 
though " hell hath enlarged herself and opened her mouth 
without measure" to receive "their glory, their pomp, and 
their multitude;" they say in their vain confidence, "Soul, take 
thine ease, eat, drink and be merry," though the messenger of 
death is at their doors, and the voice of doom is in their ears, 
" this night thy soul shall be required of thee." 

But there are occasions, and this is one of them, when life 
and death, the living and the dead, are brought together ; when 
men, under circumstances which enforce their attention, behold 
as in a glass their own image and are startled to see reflected 
the lineaments of death ; when they are compelled to gaze 
upon the narrow habitation which, must soon be their own, 
upon the closed eye, the fallen visage and sunken cheek, which 
are an image of what theirs shall be when God shall change 
their countenances and send them away. The living and the 
dead are here together to-day — many living indeed, and but 
one dead — waiting to go to the dark and narrow house to arise 
no more until the voice of the Archangel and the trump of 
God shall fall upon and quicken the dull, cold ear of death. 
Many living and but one dead, in this vast congregation 
to-day — how long will it be before of all this assembly there 
shall be one living and many dead? How long before the sole 
survivor of this multitude shall look back to this occasion and 
deem it but a brief space, as it were but a day, since he sat in 
this house and witnessed these solemnities? And what death 



Georec P. Barker. 121 



^> 



that shall hereafter occur will be likely to make a greater im- 
pression than that of the distinguished man whose mortal 
remains are before us in this house of prayer to-day? Whose 
reputation at forty years of age is likely to be more exten- 
sive ? — whose popularity more universal '' — whose personal 
friends more numerous and devoted? — whose prospects for the 
future more bright and glorious? Who in commanding intel- 
lect, generous and noble impulses, in captivating eloquence, 
in native generosity, in unsullied honor, in all those gifts of 
mind and graces of person which attract admiration and secure 
affection, is likely to excel him or leave at his death a greater 
circle of mourners, or afford in the day that makes the " grave 
his house," a more striking commentary on the words of the 
Holy Spirit, "verily man at his best estate is altogether 
vanity " ? When shall we have occasion more appropriately 
to utter the ancient Hebrew lamentation, "how is the strong 
staff broken and the beautiful rod?" Are not the words of 
the text, in which the prosperity and glory of the Arabian 
Patriarchs are portrayed, strikingly applicable to him whose 
last journey is to be made to-day from this house to the grave ? 
Whose glory was "fresher" than his? Whose bow was 
oftener renewed in his hand? Who by his hatred of oppres- 
sion, no less than by his office as the prosecuting counsel of 
the state, more frequently " brake the jaws of the wicked and 
plucked the prey out of his teeth "? To whose eloquence did 
men give more " attentive ear " or so " wait and kept silence 
at his words"? Who so followed by a host of friends, who 
waited for him as for the latter rain? Who "chose out the 
way of a greater multitude " or sat more like a chief among 
them, or " as a king in an army " ? Whose breast was more 
easily touched by a story of suffering or wrong, whose hand 
was more open to the destitute "as one that comforteth the 
mourners " ? What greater prosperity has the shadow of 
death suddenly darkened ? Fortunate, eminent, beloved, he 
was compelled, in the full tide of success, in the meridian of 
9 



122 Biographies and Jojirnalisni. 

life, with more gained and more in prospect than is attained 
by one in a thousand, even of those reckoned prosperous and 
fortunate in the competitions of this Hfe, to take up, on a bed 
of sickness and of great mental and bodily anguish, the lam- 
entation of the text " and now my soul is poured out upon me, 
the days of affliction have taken hold upon me." What to 
him were the honors he had won, when the shadows of eternit)' 
began to curtain that bed of pain? What availed then the 
breath of popular applause to him who was about to come into 
the presence of the King of Kings, to give an account of the 
deeds done in the body? How faded, in the vision of our 
dying brother, these earthly and transitory honors which shone 
upon his brilliant career, when he felt the need of an incor- 
ruptible crown and a heavenly inheritance? How cheaply he 
held the coveted distinction of time when drawing near the 
confines of the unseen world and the judgment seat of Christ? 
How worthless were to him the glories of an earthly state, 
compared with the glory, honor and immortality revealed in 
the gospel, which is eternal life. How just must have 
appeared to him that powerfully expressed satire of one of 
the older poets, as applicable to the conflicts of the forum 
as of the field : 

" Some men with swords may reap the field, 
And plant fresh laurels where they kill, 
But their strong nerves at last must yield, 
They tame but one another still. 
Early or late 
They meet their fate 
And must give up their murmuring breath, 
While they, pale captives, creep toward death." 

With what profound humility of soul and, we hope, true 
penitence did our distinguished friend look back upon very 
many passages in his successful and envied career, now brought 
to an untimely and unexpected close. As one of his oldest 
and, in early life, one of his most intimate friends ; as one who 
was a fellow-student with him in the school of that honorable 



George P. Barker. 123 

profession of which he was afterwards a distinguished orna- 
ment"; as a friend who, though separated from him for years by 
the choice of another and humbler walk in life, yet always re- 
garded him with affection, and watched his course and marked 
with interest his rising fame, I may speak, perhaps more freely 
than another, what I think he would desire me to say upon this 
funeral occasion, and of those things which he had occasion 
to regret when he entered upon the valley of the shadow 
of death. 

From what I have learned from those who constantly 
watched by the bedside of Gen. Barker during his protracted 
sickness, from what I have myself seen and known, I am satis- 
fied that he felt and acknowledged with keen regret the errors, 
of which his bitterest enemy could not have spoken in terms 
of greater severity — that the power of religious conviction was 
strong upon him, that it was his firm resolution, if his life was 
spared, to obey the gospel. I am persuaded, from all the feel- 
ings and views manifested by him during the last months of 
his life, that he would desire the friend and companion of his 
youth to say to the congregation here assembled to manifest 
their respect and affection for him in the last offices for the 
dead, not to defer and neglect the eternal interests of the soul 
upon pleas of worldly care, or for any enticement of pleasure, 
or any promise of distinction and fame. His solemn convic- 
tions of the realities of the unseen life and the truth of the 
gospel require me to admonish you in his name that there are 
higher interests than those of time, that there are resposibili- 
ties to God greater even than these which arise in our relations 
to our fellow-men, that there are duties which neglected make 
a death-bed painful, and that one smile of a reconciled God and 
Saviour is worth, in the hour of sorrow and in the article of 
death, more than all the applause ever gathered by genius and 
learning, by eloquence and art, by place and power from all 
the generations that have passed over the stage of life since 
the day of the apostacy. We do not intend in this to intimate 



1 24 Biographies and yournalisni. 

that professional distinction, political influence and worldly 
fame are incompatible with a pious life and a Christian profes- 
sion. While the names of Chief Justice Marshall and Chan- 
cellor Kent stand in the first rank of the legal profession, while 
they remain the brightest stars in the constellation of Ameri- 
can jurists, it can never be said that true religion or fervent 
piety are inconsistent with the greatest success and with the 
highest honors. We never have indorsed that common slander 
against the legal profession which insinuates that high in- 
tegrity and practical Christianity are incompatible with the suc- 
cessful practice of the law. A profession which has to do with 
the eternal principles of justice, in their application to the 
relations and business of life, which has the guardianship of 
private and public rights, whose office it is to break the jaws of 
the wicked and pluck the prey out of his teeth ; a profession 
which leads its votaries back to that " lex suprcma,'' the law of 
God, that great first rule of right action " prescribed by a 
superior power," applicable to all worlds and to all moral 
agents, can have no mean, contracting or demoralizing ten- 
dency. Unworthy men may make a bad use of their legal 
knowledge, as they may, indeed, of things esteemed most 
sacred and holy, yet that there should be immoral influences 
in the practice of the law is contradicted by the very nature 
of the profession which deals in first truths, which is engaged 
in the application of the universal principles of justice to 
cases that arise in the complicated affairs of life and the varied 
transactions of commerce and trade, which must ever e.xert 
upon vmcorrupted minds a beneficial influence, both as regards 
the understanding and the affections. But as men are not 
always led by nature to nature's God, though " the heavens 
declare His glory," so those wdio are engaged in the affairs of 
law and legislation too often neglect the supreme law uttered 
from Sinai, and are too often unmindful of that supreme Law- 
giver and Legislator who is the king eternal and invisible, 
upon whose ultimate and supreme authority all governments 



George P. Barker. 125 

rest and all judicial decisions find their warrant, without which 
the one would be a mere usurpation and the other the arbitrary 
dictums of an unauthorized and irresponsible tribunal. 

To his brethren of the bar of this city and county, whose 
generous and delicate attention to his bereaved family, whose 
kindness to the living and the dead, will never be forgotten by 
the widow and the fatherless who have sustained this irrepar- 
able loss, we think our deceased friend, from his freely-expressed 
sentiments during the last months of his life, would desire me, 
with all respect, to say that the study and practice of your 
learned and responsible profession should always lead its 
votaries to the fountain of law, that the second table of the 
decalogue which prescribes our relative duties, with which 
every jurist is constantly conversant, should lead you to the 
first and great commandment which exhibits the claims of 
God ; that while guarding the rights of persons and property, 
while vindicating the majesty of law and the authority of 
government, and while enforcing the penalties of crime, you 
are naturally reminded of the rights of the grand Proprietor 
and the Supreme Government, and of the penal sanctions of 
the first and fundamental statute, " Thou shalt have no other 
gods before me," the universal law which, like that of gravita- 
tion in the natural world, extends throughout the entire moral 
universe, the golden chain that binds in one brotherhood all 
holy and happy intelligences, disobedience to which is the 
mark of separation, and, continued, becomes at last the evi- 
dence of judgment and perdition. I think I speak but his 
last thoughts, whose earthly tabernacle we are about to consign 
to the clods of the valleys, when I suggest that those who are 
engaged in the business of human tribunals, who stand at the 
judgment seats of earthly courts, who plead at the bar of 
fallible judges, advocating the cause of the accused or seeking 
to procure their condemnation, that they who " break the jaws 
of the wicked," above all other men are led by their office and 
profession to consider the grand assize, the final tribunal, with 



126 Biogrckphies and Journalism: 

its irrevocable judgments, seen in vision by the last of the 
apostles, " and I saw a great white throne and Him that sat 
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and 
there was found no place for them ; and I saw the dead, small 
and great, stand before God, and the books were opened and 
the dead were judged out of those things which were written 
in the books according to their works." You are continually 
reminded by the business of your profession of the supreme 
and infallible Judge from whose decisions there are no appeals, 
against whose judgment lies no writ of error, no motion for 
reversal. You are constantly reminded by the varied respon- 
sibilities recognized by human laws that " every one of us 
must give an account of himself unto God, that every man at 
the bar of the final judgment must answer for himself, where 
but one Advocate is admitted to appear, where but one plea 
can avail ; above all, you are reminded of that final sentence, 
that eternal judgment which separates forever the just from 
the unjust, the righteous from the wicked, which pronounces 
in tones which penetrate all hearts and fill all space, " these 
shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous 
into life eternal." 

To many of you these thoughts are familiar, to all they 
should be so, for we stand ever by the borders of the unseen 
world, where no steps can be retraced, no acts of pardon or 
remission passed, no judgment disannulled, no intercession 
prevail. To retain the all-prevalent and only Advocate at the 
court of heaven, to obtain the grace and justification which, as 
sinners, we all need, to secure the patent of pardon under the 
broad seal of the Supreme Magistrate, and written in the blood 
of the Eternal Son upon whom was laid our iniquities, should 
be the immediate endeavo*" of every hearer in this house 
to-day. Do we not here behold the evidence that our life is a 
vapor? Is there not a voice to us to-day from heaven; a 
voice from the four winds, a voice from this coffin, " boast not 
thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day shall 



George P. Barker. 127 

brine forth " ? For that final assize where all the transactions 
of time shall be reviewed, when all human judgments shall be 
re-examined, when every hidden thing shall be revealed and 
the secrets of all hearts exposed, for that day of final and fiery 
trial, which "shall try every man's work of what sort it is," 

" When shriveling like a parched scroll, 
The flaming heavens together roll," 

it becomes us all to be prepared, for there is no work, or wis- 
dom, or device, or knowledge in the grave to which we hasten. 
When the bow of the mighty is sundered, when the strong 
staff is broken, when the rod of beauty is withered, when he 
whose glory was fresh, who sat chief and dwelt as a king in 
the army, is cut off in the way, when his light is darkened 
whose sun was yet in its meridian, when the strong man bows 
himself, should we not open our ears to the solemn teachings 
of such a providence, and hear a voice from such a death 
proclaiming "life is short, eternity is long " ? 

George Payson Barker was born on the twenty-fifth 
day of October, 1807, i^^ Rindge, New Hampshire. He was 
descended from that old Puritan stock who bent the knee to 
none but God; who, failing for the time in England in their 
contest with the tyrannies in the state and in the church, fled 
to the new world where they founded a free government and 
worshiped the Highest after the dictates of their consciences, 
with none to molest them or make them afraid. In his 
mother's line are found some of the most distinguished men 
in New England ; he was nearly related to that celebrated 
clergyman. Dr. Payson, of Maine, whose praise is in all the 
churches. He was prepared for college in his native state, 
under the private tuition of a clergyman, which thirty years 
since was a common practice in the northern states, and he 
always considered this the most thorough part of his education 
and superior to his subsequent academical training. A portion 
of his collegiate life was spent at Amherst, Mass., the remainder 



1 28 Biographies and Jotirnalism. 

at Union College, in this state, where he graduated in the 
year 1827. The same year he commenced the study of law in 
this city. In 1829 he was chosen clerk of the then Village of 
Buffalo. In December, 1832, he was appointed to the respon- 
sible office of District Attorney of the County of Erie. At the 
general election in 1835, he was sent to the assembly of this 
state, an election which was the result of his great personal 
popularity, as the political party to which he was attached 
were at that time in a minority in this city and county. 
In 1842 he was appointed by the legislature to the honorable 
and highly responsible office of attorney-general of this state, 
and there is no higher evidence of the great ability of our 
deceased friend than the manner in which he sustained himself 
in this prominent and difficult position. A young man, called 
from the western and comparatively obscure and neglected 
portion of this great commonwealth, to take the official place 
of chief among the old lawyers at the capital who were giants 
in their profession, in a state whose Bar and Judiciary are 
confessedly unrivalled on this continent, General BARKER so 
discharged the duties of his office, and so won the esteem and 
affection of the bar, the legislature, and the people, that his 
re-election at the close of his term was only prevented by his 
positive declinature. 

General Barker was distinguished by a commanding person 
and a most winning and courteous manner; in personal popu- 
larity he was, perhaps, without a rival in this part of the state. 
He was characterized by a generous disposition, which shone 
out in his countenance and appeared without affectation in his 
whole deportment. He had a hand and a heart open as day 
to melting charity, and while he knew how to repel those who 
presumed upon his characteristic courtesy, there were none so 
poor or so lowly as to be denied his attention or refused his 
sympathy. He was a ready and eloquent speaker, who felt, 
and made others feel, what he said ; he had the instant 
command of his resources, yet was none the less a well-read 



George P. Barker. 129 

lawyer, and an able and judicious counselor. There are those 
who connect with fluency, readiness and eloquence, the idea of 
a want of research and depth ; these notions of profundity 
and wisdom are like those which led the ancients to embody 
their ideas of sagacity and reflection in the symbol of an owl, 
the chosen bird of Minerva in the pagan mythology, which 
was after all, perhaps, intended as a quiet sarcasm upon that 
popular fallacy which in every age has made silence and 
stolidity the marks of profound thought, rather than of the 
stupidity in which they ordinarily originate. 

The companion and associate of the deceased in his earlier 
studies in his profession, I can speak confidentl}^ of the fact 
that he read his profession with diligence, and though of a 
gay and convivial temperament, and led too often into asso- 
ciations where his time was worse than wasted, yet he 
endeavored to make up for this by hours taken from those 
commonly devoted to sleep. He was sensible of the excesses 
into which he was occasionally led, and never thought of 
justifying them, for he belonged to that noble order of men 
who are capable of the magnanimity of receiving a reproof 
and acknowledging an error. He had a nice sense of honor, 
and was abhorrent of all that was mean and servile, cunning 
and contracted. He had an ardent temperament, and his 
judgments of men were sometimes hasty and prejudiced, yet 
he was ever ready to defend those unjustly defamed. With 
what lofty indignation and eloquent invective has he treated 
the aspersions cast upon some of his friends by men who, 
because they have never known any higher motives of action 
than ambition and selfishness, suppose that no purer or holier 
incentives can be felt by others. 

These characteristics were manifest in his discharge of the 
duties of the office of prosecuting attorney for the people, in 
which he spent a large portion of his professional life. While 
vigilant in the prosecution of offenses, he was not disposed 
to urge convictions in doubtful cases, as many do under the 



130 Biographies and yournalism. 

mere influence of professional pride. He would not easily 
have pardoned himself the procuring of the conviction of an 
accused person of whose guilt he had any reasonable doubts. 
It was perhaps a fault of General Barker that he never 
accumulated property, with all the facilities he enjoyed, but 
so rare is this fault in men in his circumstances, and with his 
opportunities, that it becomes almost a virtue and will be 
easily pardoned by those who remember his characteristic 
generosity. Casuists may dispute whether profusion or cove^;- 
ousness be the greater sin, but there can be no question as to 
that which is the most common and the most unamiable. 

But we can dwell no longer on the characteristics of our 
departed brother; he has gone to the tribunal of a just Judge, 
and is henceforth beyond the applause or censure of men. 
We shall see him no more 'till the heavens fail ; his voice is 
silent in death ; his beauty shall fade in the grave ; he has 
" said to corruption, thou art my father, to the worm, thou art 
my mother and my sister." " How are the mighty fallen, and 
the weapons of war perished," " the mighty have fallen in the 
midst of the battle of life ! " "I am distressed for thee, my 
brother, very pleasant hast thou been unto me, but now the 
grave is thine house; thy dwelling-place is with the dead, 
thy soul has returned to God who gave it ! " 

It will be expected, perhaps, that something more should be 
said of the last sickness of our departed friend, and of his 
views and feelings when the shadow of the angel of death 
darkened his dwelling. In fulfilling this expectation, I intend 
to be faithful to the living as well as the dead. In the pathetic 
language of the text, " his soul was poured out upon him, the 
days of affliction took hold upon him." Most deeply did he 
feel the importance of the great questions which relate to the 
soul and the way of salvation ; most heartily did he condemn 
himself for all his past neglects of divine things in the 
knowledge of which he had been instructed by his pious 
mother. Most humbly did he confess himself to God for his 



George P. Barker. 131 

sins of omission and commission, saying, " Against Thee and 
Thee only have I sinned and done this evil in Thy sight." 
His prayer in his last sickness was ever that of the publican 
at the temple, " God be merciful to me a sinner." For more 
than a year before his death, I am informed by his afflicted 
widow, he was constant in his daily perusal of the sacred 
Scriptures. His judgments upon himself in his last sickness 
were most severe, and though he expressed no clear hope of 
the mercy of God in Christ for which he sought with "strong 
crying and tears," yet we are not without hope that He who 
hath said, "to him that knocketh it shall be opened, and 
whoso judgeth himself shall not be judged," before whom 
were the prayers of his pious ancestry, and their tears 
" preserved in His bottle," who remembereth the covenant 
" I will be a God to thee and thy seed after thee," heard and 
accepted the petition of our dying brother, though He did 
not vouchsafe those hopes and joys which might have led 
others to cast their souls upon the doubtful hazard of a 
death-bed repentance. 

There was nothing in the case of our departed friend to 
justify or encourage any man in neglecting the affairs of the 
soul until the days of affliction, darkness and death. Yet we 
do not sorrow for him as those without hope ; we commit him 
to the judgment of that great Judge who will do all things 
well, whose mercies are as high as heaven, as fathomless as 
the depths of the sea, and who is able to save to the uttermost; 
to whom also let us commend our own souls, for we shall soon 
follow the distinguished man whose remains we are about to 
consign to the earth ; for us the silver cord of life will soon be 
loosed, and every one of us must soon give an account of 
himself unto God, and it is our prayer to the Father of Mercies 
that every hearer in this house may find the gate of life, may 
choose the better portion, may retain that Almighty Advocate 
who can alone plead prevailingly, and have that Judge for his 
friend, whose decisions are irrevocable and without appeal. 




*"S V Oeo EPerme «"*'«'■' 



c^~^^^^^^:^^^?-^i^^^^ 



BIOGRAPHY OF JOHN C. LORD, D. D. 

Pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church for thirty-eight years. 



John Chase Lord ! As I pen the name of my friend of 
the olden time, memory brings to mind his commanding, dig- 
nified, attractive form, his strikingly intellectual countenance, 
his look of manly determination, his hearty salutation, his 
characteristics as a gentleman of the old school. He was then 
full of the vigor and fire of early manhood, and his pulpit 
efforts were to my then more youthful imagination as brilliant, 
as varied and as sparkling as the colors of the rainbow ! 
Visions revert to my mind of the old Pearl-street Church, a 
beautiful edifice (erected in 1836), without galleries, its audi- 
ence-room of oval form, the pulpit at the street end and the 
orchestra at the rear ; the blare of the trumpet and the harp, 
and the sackbut and the viol, seemed to realize the old temple 
service. I had never before heard any instrument in worship 
of more cunning workmanship than the wooden pitch-pipe 
and the steel tuning-fork, which were accustomed to launch 
delicious melodies upon the air of primitive village churches. 
In fact that orchestral magnificence still haunts my imagina- 
tion. The pulpit was a low, plain platform, with a small desk 
in the center, and inscribed on the oval wall over it were these 
Scriptural quotations : " Keep thy foot when thou goest to 
the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the 
sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil." 
" The Lamb is the light thereof." 



134 Biographies and your7ialis7n. 

Never shall I forget the peculiar form of the church. The 
exterior of the building was an exact copy of the Parthenon 
at Athens; the dome, from which the room was lighted, was 
thirty-three feet by twenty-one, and constructed of richly- 
stained glass, from which floods of mellow light streamed 
through with fine effect ; in the center of this dome hung a 
magnificent chandelier ; the acoustic properties of the building 
were complete. In this unique edifice, forty-four years ago, I 
first heard Dr. LOKD; first listened to his wonderful erudition, 
his unequaled logic, his impassioned utterances, his mighty 
force. Here I first heard the eminent divine whose subsequent 
efforts placed him in the front rank of American pulpit orators. 
He made the church edifices of which he was pastor, by his 
labors and his sacrifices, by his intellect and the power of his 
genius, monumental. 

The limits of this tribute to our townsman will be insufficient 
to do ample justice to his distinguished career. If I succeed 
in placing in a permanent form the more prominent features 
of his character and life-work my object will have been 
attained. It was not merely as a clergyman that Dr. Lord 
was entitled to a conspicuous place in the records of our city, 
for he was for many years a large part of its intellectual, moral 
and political history. During the middle period of his life 
there was not a question in Church or State, of general public 
interest, in which he was not a leader of opinion on one side 
or the other. 

Dr. Lord was born in Washington, New Hampshire, on the 
ninth of August, 1805, and was the son of Rev. John Lord 
and Sarah Chase, who was the cousin of the late Chief Justice 
Chase. At the age of twelve years he entered Plainfield 
Academy, in his native state. Subsequently he entered Madi- 
son Academy. Afterwards, for two years, he was in Hamilton 



John C. Lord. 135 

College, in New York. He graduated in the same class with 
our distinguished fellow-townsmen, Judge George W. Clinton 
and Dr. Thomas M. Foote. After two years editorial experi- 
ence in Canada, as the editor-in-chief of " TJie Canadian,'' he 
came to Buffalo in 1825, entering the office of Messrs. Love 
& Tracy, then the leading law firm in Western New York. 
He taught a select school for two months, having Orsamus H. 
Marshall, Esq., and Dr. James P. White as pupils. He was 
admitted to the bar in 1828. In the latter part of that year, 
on December 9th, at four o'clock P. M., at the parsonage, by 
the Rev. E. B. Smith, he was married to Miss Mary Elizabeth 
Johnson, daughter of the late Dr. Ebenezer Johnson, the first 
mayor of Buffalo and one of its leading citizens. That mar- 
riage had its specially romantic incident, which survives, a 
pleasant tradition of its time. It was a most happy one, and 
no couple were ever more devoted to each other. 

To the legal profession Dr. Lord brought health, ambition, 
forecast, pluck, yet, in the midst of his early triumphs, he 
heard the voice which arrested Paul on that journey to Damas- 
cus, and obeyed it. He turned his back on the allurements 
of a worldly ambition for the labors and sacrifices of the 
ministerial office. In this act were revealed the ardor of his 
nature, the depth of his convictions and the fountain-springs 
of his character. 

After uniting with the First Presbyterian Church of this 
city he entered the Auburn Theological Seminary in 1830, 
from which he graduated in 1833. Soon afterwards he was 
called to Geneseo, Livingston Co., N. Y., and for two years 
was pastor of the Presbyterian church in that village. At 
Geneseo his sermons were less thoughtful, but not less earnest, 
than after his removal to Buffalo, where he felt the spur and 
answered to it. He stood firmly on the creed which Milton 



136 Biographies and Journalism. 

has clothed with immortal words in " Paradise Lost " ; which 
Augustine, and Luther, and Calvin, and Knox, and Bunyan, 
and Whitefield, and Robert Hall preached with a power before 
which selfishness and sin slunk away abashed. He was in- 
tensely orthodox, according to the Genevan standards. Dr. 
Lord loved the old better than the new. All his life long he 
loved to seek the old paths and walk in them. A favorite 
text of his was : " Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways 
and see and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and 
walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." — Jer. vi: 16. 
Meanwhile the progress of events in Buffalo was causing the 
way to be opened for the return of Dr. Lord to the city 
where he had only been known as a lawyer and a teacher. In 
1835 the First Presbyterian Church had sent out a colony. 
The Presbytery of Buffalo organized these thirty-three mem- 
bers into a society, with the name of the " Pearl-street Pres- 
byterian Church," on November 15th of the same year. They 
were holding their services in a building which Dr. LoRD 
himself has thus described : " The edifice was rudely con- 
structed of hemlock boards doubled upon scantling and filled 
in with tan-bark; its cost was about three hundred dollars." 
By this society a unanimous and hearty call was placed in his 
hands and was cordially accepted. He preached his first ser- 
mon in his new charge in the month of November, 1835. In a 
)^ear from that time the prosperous young society had completed 
a church building, at a cost of some thirty thousand dollars. 
It was, as I briefly described it in the opening pages of this 
memoir, of peculiar form and build, and a newspaper corre- 
spondent of the time described it as not unlike the famous 
City Temple of London. Here the pastor at once jumped 
into fame. His preaching commanded great attention ; his 
thoughts were original, and the famous French preachers were 
not more fearless than was he. 



John C. Lord. 137 

In 1848 the same society, under the corporate name of the 
Central Presbyterian Church, commenced the erection of the 
present spacious and splendid edifice on the corner of Pearl 
and Genesee streets. During its process of erection, on almost 
any day, there might be seen a tall, venerable man having an 
eye on the work as it progressed, in readiness to open his 
purse to meet expenses attending the enterprise. It was the 
late George Palmer. He contributed largely. Of this fact 
Dr. Lord, in a sermon delivered soon after the decease of 
Mr. Palmer, makes mention as follows : " Without Mr. Palmer's 
assistance and energy it may be doubted whether this noble 
edifice could have been built." Next to Mr. Palmer, Elder 
James J. Baldwin, whose name stands at the head of the list 
of the first members of the church, contributed his time and 
means ; of his means so largely as to considerably embarass 
him financially at the time. Others contributed liberally; 
among the number were the following, now deceased : Geo. 
W. TifTt, Wm. Tweedy, Samuel Smith, Patrick Smith, Joseph 
Foster, Dr. Wm. K. Scott, Luman K. Plimpton, Horace Utley, 
Oliver Bugbee, Robert D. Boyd, Arthur and John McArthur, 
Elihu Baldwin and John T. Noye. Others contributed as 
God had blessed them, some in amounts which are apt to 
escape the observation of man, but do not — even to the 
widow's mite — of the Omniscient One. 

The stately edifice was dedicated in the presence of an 
immense congregation, with exultant services, on January 2, 
1852. I quote a reference to the occasion from the address at 
the semi-centennial celebration by Hon. James O. Putnam : 

" I well remember with what enthusiasm the congregation 
began the new enterprise. Its completion gave a fresh inspi- 
ration to Dr. Lord; the congregation was happy, enthusiastic, 
united. It was proud of its pastor, proud of its material 
prosperity, and went on its way rejoicing. 



138 Biographies and yoiirnalisni. 

"The strong individuality of Dr. LORD and his uncom- 
promising opinions on public questions, brought him and his 
church in a national crisis into a position of national influence 
and authority. I refer to his own and the attitude of this 
congregation upon the slavery question during the adminis- 
tration of President Fillmore. Dr. Lord's celebrated ' Higher 
Law Sermon ' was extreme in one or two of its positions, for 
in controversies so heated words are not easily weighed with 
exactness, but it was a powerful defense of the compromises 
of the constitution. We all stood by the doctor while raged 
the wordy war. And so the Central Church helped stay the 
tempest until the nation was prepared to weather it. And 
when at length the floods came, no pulpit in the land rang 
with clearer note for the Union and for freedom than this. 

'' I seem now to catch the echo from these walls of those 
ringing words of the war-period Thanksgiving sermon of your 
pastor: 'For myself I had rather the Almighty would sink 
the continent in the sea, or that the nation should nobly 
perish on the battle-field for freedom, than submit to this 
inglorious result, to the lamentable degradation of our national 
prostitution at the footstool of slavery.' " 

\\\ fact, the very ablest papers of Dr. Lord were of a 
controversial character, whatever their form. He was like the 
war-horse, of whose description he was so fond. " He saith 
among the trumpets, ha ! ha ! and he smelleth the battle afar 
off, the thunder of the captain and the shouting." His genius 
was happy in the stimulus of opposition, and when engaged 
with a foeman worthy of his steel, he was incarnate courage 
and power. His lectures, addresses and pen productions would 
fill volumes. They were brilliant, profound and epigrammatic 
in style. Prominent among his more celebrated lectures were 
"The Land of Ophir," "The Progress of Civilization," "The 



Jo kit C. Lord. 139 

Star Aldebaran," " The War of the Titans " and " The 
Romance of History." These were famous. 

As a specimen of his " apples of gold in baskets of silver," 
I give the following sentences, which were pronounced at the 
close of his lecture on " The Star Aldebaran," after a beautiful 
description of what that star has looked upon in the past and 
what it may look upon in the cycles of the future. He says : 
" Thy grave, oh, hearer, shall Aldebaran watch when the fire 
of thine eye is quenched, when the bloom on thy cheek has 
faded, and guard the portals of thy grave until the day when 
the Master of Life shall cast down the throne and break the 
dominion of Death. Thy spirit will soon leave its house of 
clay and pass out upon the universe, and, perchance, to this 
distant star thou mayest wing thine uninterrupted way ; and 
bethink thee, as thou surveyest its glories, that its light is 
resting upon the remote planet of thy birth, and glistening 
upon the marble that affection has reared to thy memory — 
over the deserted and decaying tabernacle that enshrined thy 
soul, and which is again to receive it when raised a spiritual 
and incorruptible body, by that word of power, that from 
emptiness and nothingness, from darkness and chaos, sum- 
moned at the beginning matter and motion, light and life." 

In his equally famous lecture on the " Romance of His- 
tory," having described the origin and results of the crusades, 
in sentences which are almost as rythmical as blank verse, he 
asks: "How is it that the Christian and the Hebrew have 
alike suffered the soil sacred to both to remain cursed by 
Mohomedan hordes, and all her sacred places dishonored and 
blasphemed by the sign of the crescent ? There is no other 
explanation than the prophecies of the Bible, which declare 
that Judea must remain in the hands of the spoiler, and the 
abomination of desolation continue in the holy places, until 



140 Biographies and yoicrnalisin. 

the set time for the return of the Hebrew, when he shall 
acknowledge Him whom his fathers crucified. And so to-day 
the mosque of Omar stands on the site of the temple, and the 
Christian pilgrim must pay a price to behold the sacred places 
of Jerusalem ; he must undergo the scrutiny of a bearded Turk 
before he can kneel at the sepulchre of the Saviour." 

In 1838 a volume of his "Sermons to Young Men" was 
published. He was a rapid writer, and loved books, as did the 
grand historian Baron Macaulay. Though his mind was 
cast in a bold and vigorous vein, yet he was capable of strains 
of elegaic beauty, as was evidenced in his sermon on the 
tragic death of young Sprague, the son of our late respected 
townsman, Dr. Sprague, who accidentally shot himself on 
Grand Island, while hunting. I quote a few lines: 

" He fell without a struggle or a motion; one moment full 
of life, in the next his mortal remains lay under the shadows 
of the primitive forests, protected from the sun by the boughs 
of those ancient trees, which were planted by the hand of God 
before the vessel of Columbus touched the shore of the New 
World. There, in the calm quiet of its last sleep, lay the body 
of our dear young friend, for days and nights, yet no wild 
beast of the forest was suffered to touch it, no fowl of the air 
was permitted to alight upon that soul-deserted tenement. 
With strange instinctive reverence the denizens of the woods 
respected the remains which are before us to-day, unmutilated 
and with less change than is the ordinary result of death. 
" * ■" ■'■^ We may imagine the innocent birds gazing down 
from the neighboring trees with amazement upon this strange 
tenant of their solitudes, watching with curious eyes the calm 
repose of the lifeless body, until the sentinel stars set their 
watch in the sky, looking pitifully down through the opening 
of the forest with their calm, pure eyes, till the dawning day." 



John C. Loi'd. 141 

Dr. Lord was a warm, sympathetic friend. His heart beat 
in unison with his fellow-men. His home was a place of 
refuge for the poor and needy. Without children of his own, 
the children of others, and often of the extreme poor, had the 
protection and care of his house. These offices were some- 
times rewarded with poetic love. There is a poetic beaut}' in 
this incident : A poor and simple-minded lad, living in the 
vicinity, had learned to call the doctor friend. When told of 
his death, he begged for his little savings that he might buy 
flowers for the burial-time. He was gratified, and his handful 
of winter-bloom was placed at the feet of his friend, where 
they now rest in the deep silence. 

Dr. Lord had a dual professional life : Eminent in one, 
honored in both professions. Why should not his picture be 
placed in the representative portrait gallery of Buffalo's illus- 
trious lawyers and judges? Still I cannot but recall to mind 
the reply of the elder Cato, to one asking why he had no pub- 
lic statue: "I would much rather be asked why I have no 
statue than why I have one." Twenty-five years ago my dear 
friend established his home in a suburban retreat. There, 
amid broad acres, beautified by his own hands, and in a noble 
library, where was gathered the thoughts of the ages, he 
enriched his nature for the duties of time, and prepared for 
the limitless future. 

Dr. Lord's extreme kindness and friendship to the author 
of this work was strikingly evidenced over thirty-seven years 
ago, and in many instances since. As city editor of the 
Buffalo Daily Republic, I reported his sermon, preached at 
the North Presbyterian Church, on the occasion of the funeral 
of Attorney-General George P. Barker, and when I took the 
proof sheets to him for revision, he complimented me on 
my success in giving the salient points in his discourse. 



142 Biographies and yournalism. 

Not long afterwards I was requested by W. A. Seaver, Esq., 
then publisher of the Courier, to write a biographical sketch 
of the general for his paper. In obtaining statistics for the 
purpose, I had occasion to again call on Dr. Lord. Dur- 
ing the " interview " he strongly advised me to write and 
publish the life of the eminent ex-attorney-general. Sur- 
prised, and yet deeply gratified at the suggestion from one 
so eminent, I, upon reflection, concluded to attempt the 
task. Dr. LORD not only was the initiator of the publica- 
tion of the work, but he went farther in a business, prac- 
tical way. He introduced me to our respected townsman, 
the late Oliver G. Steele, Esq., who then was a book- 
seller, stationer and printer, at No. 24 Main street, and 
said to him in my presence : " I will be responsible for the 
payment of Mr. Bryan's bill to the amount of $300, for the 
publication of the work." Within a month I had so far paid 
Mr, Steele from advance subscriptions that he voluntarily 
released Dr. Lord. I can add that the edition of 1,000 copies 
were all sold. Pecuniarily the work was a success, and the 
kind indorsements of the illustrious William Cullen Bryant, 
America's poet editor, and the brilliant orator, John Van 
Buren, together with the friendly notices of the principal 
papers of the city and state, were exceedingly gratifying to 
me, and encouraged me to future exertions. 

The semi-centennial of the church was a memorable occa- 
sion. Friday, November 13, 1885, was selected as the date on 
which to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its organization. 
The exceptionally large and representative attendance demon- 
strated unmistakably the profound interest felt in the historic 
event. On the wall behind the pulpit hung a life-size portrait 
of Doctor Lord, enwreathed with the tender grace of trailing 
smilax, and wearing the august and benignant look so familiar 



John C. Lord. 143 

to us in the long ago. A life-like marble bust of the good 
doctor flanked the pulpit on one side and a fine portrait of his 
scarcely less famous wife adorned the other. The esteemed 
pastor of the church, Rev. John McLachlan, presided, and a 
felicitous address was made by the Rev. Charles Wood, who 
for five years was the pastor of the church after the retirement 
of Dr. Lord. The Rev. D. McLeod, the successor of Rev. 
Mr. Wood, sent his deep regrets at his unavoidable absence. 
Rev. Mr. Benton, another old pastor of the flock, also made 
an excellent address. Rev. Dr. A. T. Chester, who for some 
time ably supplied the pulpit of the church, and formerly led 
its weekly prayer-meetings, read a poem, "The Jeweled Cup," 
which was particularly adapted to the occasion. Then came 
an historical address by the Hon. Stephen Lockwood, which 
was characterized by rare ability. The long and intimate 
acquaintance of ex-Judge Lockwood with Dr. Lord enabled 
him to form a correct estimate of his religious character, and 
his analysis of it created a decided impression. The conclud- 
ing address was made by the Hon. James O. Putnam, and it 
was distinguished by that elegance of diction, eloquence and 
profound knowledge of character that have won for the intel- 
lectual efforts of our eminent townsman a national reputation. 

For a little more than three years after his retirement from 
the pastoral charge Dr. Lord remained among his people, 
honored, respected, revered ; a constant blessing and benedic- 
tion to the church. The most cordial relations existed between 
him and his successor. Rev. Charles Wood. 

Before dismissing the consideration of the management of the 
church, I here allude to one who for over twenty years filled the 
position of president of the board of trustees. Patrick Smith 
was born in the Town of Ross, County Meath, Ireland, April 
I, 1809. He came to this countr\' with an uncle (his parents 



144 Biographies and yottr7talis7n. 

both having died in his childhood), and settled in Buffalo, 
November i, 1826. On the first of April, 1832, he began 
business for himself as a gunsmith. During a long and useful 
life he filled many positions of public trust. He was elected 
one of the trustees of the Pearl-street Church in 1849. I" 
185 1, when the Pearl-street Church changed its name and 
organization to the Central Presbyterian Church, he, with all 
the rest of the officers, resigned. He was re-elected January 
23, 1855, and elected president of the board of trustees De- 
cember II, 1861, which position he held until the day of his 
death. He was, therefore, identified with the Central Church 
from its organization, and during nearly the whole time one of 
its trustees. He possessed great sincerity of character and 
firmness in what he deemed right, with such love for and 
devotion to the interests of the church and society that he 
neither lost courage, hope nor faith in its future success. In 
addition to his wise, cheerful counsel, which was invaluable, he 
was always ready to contribute liberally to its support. He 
died December 12, 1881. 

Of the Sabbath-school and mission work of the church much 
might be said. Dr. Hiram H. Reynolds was the first superin- 
tendent of the Sabbath-school, and for many years faithfully 
discharged his duties. Then came Samuel P. Provost, and 
afterward Judge Stephen Lockwood, who served for ten years. 
His administration of the duties of the position was able, 
fervent and highly serviceable. Judge Lockwood was succes- 
sively succeeded by Messrs. W. C. Bryant, J. B. Sweet, Oliver 
Holt, A. B. Neill, E. C. Warner, Samuel Seymour and John C. 
Cobb, who has been its efficient superintendent for the past 
three years. Here I take pleasure in mentioning that Mr. 
Oscar Cobb for nearly twenty years rendered important service 
in mission work by his painstaking industr}% zeal and devotion 



John C. Lord. 145 

to the Master's cause. Excellent mission work was also 
accomplished by Messrs. J. B. Sweet, W. C. Bryant and C. B. 
Armstrong. From our esteemed townsman, Mr. Oscar Cobb, 
we gathered as the result of his close intimacy with the subject 
of this memoir that Dr. LoRD was one of the noblest, most 
magnanimous men he ever knew; he was incapable of harbor- 
ing hatred, envy, uncharitableness or unkindness towards any 
man ; he was forgiving and generous to a fault. Over and 
over again would the doctor lend the helping hand to those 
who needed it. 

Dr. Lord, while being what is commonly styled a learned 
or profound man, was singularly free from pedantry. He had 
no desire to parade any of his attainments. He was a thorough 
English scholar, but not eminent as a linguist. He was one 
day in my office on Washington street, and I pointed out to 
him a fine steel engraving of the distinguished French trage- 
dienne, Rachel, at the same time pronouncing her name with 
the French accent. He at once looked up at me and said, 
" No more of this French accent — call her after the good old 
English style, Rachel, and done with it. You and I are more 
at home in the English language." 

As illustrating the large-heartedness of Dr. LORD, unlike 
most public men, he was always ready to attribute the best 
motives, whenever the proofs to the contrary were not over- 
whelmingly great. To his kindness of heart, great enough to 
embrace even the dumb creatures, many testimonials might 
be given. Strong as his reasoning powers were, his heart was 
stronger, and very often, because of pity, he thrust his hand 
deep into his pocket against his better judgment. He was so 
frank himself that it was hard to convince him that all were 
not equally honest in making those statements which so 
aroused his sympath)\ 



146 Biographies and yo7iriialisni. 

In reviewing the life-work of Dr. Lord it can be said that 
throughout a long and eventful career he illustrated the high- 
est type of American citizenship. He was ever true to his 
country, true to the constitution and, above all, true to the 
cause of our heavenly Father. 

On Sunday, the twenty-first day of Januar}', 1877, at the 
hour of evening service, his spirit took its flight to the upper 
sanctuary, and, in a few days after, all that was mortal was 
borne by loving hands to his last resting-place in Forest Lawn, 
within sight of the home where he spent twenty-five happy 
years. A beautiful monument, erected by his friend, our late 
large-brained and large-hearted fellow-citizen, George W. Tifft, 
marks the grave of Buffalo's great citizen and eminent divine. 



BIOGRAPHY OF MRS. JOHN C. LORD. 



Mrs. John C. 'Lord was a Christian philanthropist whose 
life was consecrated to ofifices of religion and humanity. Her 
originality, her strongly marked individuality, her disregard of 
the conventionalities of " society " — when by society is meant 
mere fashion and gaiety — her wit and humor, her generous and 
loyal nature, and her labors for the protection of our domestic 
animals against the cruelty of man, endeared her to all who 
came in contact with her and justly entitle her to grateful and 
enduring remembrance. Neither bronze, nor marble, nor a 
grand mausoleum are necessary to perpetuate her fame and 
memory. They are engraven and interwoven in the hearts 
and affections of thousands in the beautiful city in which she 
was born, lived and adorned, and will be fondly cherished by 
all who love true womanhood, unselfish devotion to duty, and 
chivalrous qualities of head and heart. As I write these 
introductory lines I recall to mind this rare woman, whose 
presence graced alike the mansions of the opulent and the 
cottages of the humble. 

I recall to mind her never-failing interest in all that con- 
cerned Buffalo, in all that related to the Pearl-street (now 
Central Presbyterian) Church, in all that concerned the eleva- 
tion of her sex and our race. No more will we be gladdened 
with her sunshiny manner or behold her gaily riding behind 
her historic Shetland ponies. Unique, singular, unaffected, 
she made us all love the pure, the simple and the beautiful 



148 Biographies and yournalisin. 

more, and detest from the bottom of our hearts all shams and 
affectation. Such a character is seldom met with in any land. 
Would that we had more such notable illustrations of the 
capacity of true human nature for <^ood. 

My purpose will be accomplished if I succeed in impressing 
upon those who were unacquainted with the subject of this 
memoir some of her distinguishing traits. Here was a woman 
born in affluence, and surrounded with luxury and refinement, 
educated with care and brought up amidst the most sterling 
society associations, under a parental roof where she was the 
idol, who preferred asserting everywhere those simple yet 
exalted qualities that grace her sex, and in Christian and 
benevolent work acting well her part, rather than to be a 
society belle and live for mere fashion and the frivolities of a 
" set." Such an influence was most salutary and encouraging, 
and as long as true worth is pri/xd will the name of Mrs. 
John C. Lord be revered. 

Mary Elizabeth Johnson w^as born in the Village of Buffalo, 
on January 6, 1812. Her father was the late Dr. Ebenezer 
Johnson, one of its most prominent and influential citizens. 
During the days of peril consequent upon the war with Great 
Britain, when the village was burned by the enemy. Dr. John- 
son was an army surgeon in the public service. The young 
mother, with her child, made her escape to Williamsville, 
returning to Buffalo as soon as personal safety was assured. 
Subsequently Dr. Johnson returned to the village and renewed 
the practice of his profession. He won wealth, position and 
political distinction. He was the first mayor under the city 
charter, and his home was a sort of baronial castle. In fact, 
the home of Mrs. Lord's girlhood was one of the early land- 
marks of the town. The "Cottage," now the Buffalo Female 
Academy building, was the village mansion, and the park in 



Airs, yohn C. Lord. 149 

which it was situated was of the private grounds connected 
with it. 

In this connection I cannot refrain from paying a just 
tribute to the Buffalo Female Academy, which commenced 
its thirty-sixth academic year on the twenty-second of Sep- 
tember, 1886. It is an eminently useful institution. It never 
was in a more prosperous condition, important improvements 
and accessories of an educational character having been recently 
added to it. The beauty of the grounds and the elegance of 
the surroundings around Goodell Hall ; the proximity of the 
spacious building to Delaware avenue, one of the loveliest in 
the country ; the brilliant as well as solid attainments of the 
Board of Instruction ; the high character of the Board of 
Trustees, of which Hon. Pascal P. Pratt is president, combine 
to make the academy second to none in the land. 

Its first principal was Professor Charles E. West, now- 
principal of the celebrated Brooklyn Heights Seminary, a 
gentleman widely known for his ripe scholarship, eminent 
ability as an educator anci distinguished literary attainments. 
Our honored townsman. Reverend Doctor Albert T. Chester, 
was the successor of Professor West, as principal, and has held 
the important position for over a quarter of a century. Dr. 
Chester is one of the most accomplished, profound and earnest 
divines in our city, and his rich intellectual endowments and 
genial, noble characteristics endear him to all who come in 
contact with him. 

In this cultured and happy home John C. Lord, then a 
young lawyer of boundless ambition, met and won his bride. 
The marriage took place at four o'clock P. M., December 9, 
1828. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. E. B. Smith, 
at the parsonage. 

Mrs. Lord was an original character, of marked peculiarities. 



150 Biographies and jfoicr/iaiisDi. 

and had her husband continued in the legal profession, her 
energy and her genius would have been important factors in 
advancing his public career. But this was not to be. Young 
Lord, soon after his marriage, to the surprise of the public, 
left the field of worldly ambition for the duties of the minis- 
terial office. It used to be a playful saying of Mrs. LORD that 
she married a lawyer, not a clergyman, and she could not be 
held to the responsibilities of a pastor's wife. She had her 
own peculiar methods, but she adapted herself to the new 
position. She brought to it a warm heart and boundless 
sympathy. She made no effort to bring herself into the 
regulation methods which congregations sometimes exact of 
clergymen's wives. 

It is undeniable that Mrs. LORD lived a life which was 
known to the public, and which, being a little out of the 
ordinary course, might suggest to one not fully informed an 
intention on her part to be singular, but whatever appeared to 
the stranger singularity had a substantial basis, and was the 
outgrowth of settled convictions. She disregarded in a marked 
degree the conventionalities of society. Her father was a 
society man, and during the period of life that his daughter 
was of an age reckoned suitable for society, his social position 
was inferior to none, and it was his ambition that his daughter 
should be conspicuous. She was witty, vivacious and uncom- 
monly attractive. Of these qualities he was fully conscious, 
and it is no wonder that the doting father should seek to 
overwork the matter. This he did, and the daughter conceived 
a disrelish for fashionable society which had no abatement in 
after-life. This distaste of mere fashionable society doubtless 
caused her to abhor shams and condemn the foolish devices 
of those who evinced a conscious lack of position by perpetu- 
ally endeavoring to obtain recognition among the so-called 



I 



]\lrs. yolin C. Lord. 151 

elite. At one time during the pastorate of her husband there 
were a few who thought her pecuHarities in this regard a hin- 
derance to the prosperity of the church. They wanted a 
clergyman's wife of different social practices, and better com- 
porting in their view with the course a minister's wife should 
adopt. This was known to her and she playfully remarked 
that they should not expect it, as she married a lawyer and 
not a clergyman. However much Mrs. LoRD was commented 
upon on account of her peculiarities, it is still undeniable that 
her rare culture, her intimate association with the refined, and 
her exceptional intellectual traits made her at home in the 
highest circles. Neither did Mrs. Lord adorn herself in costly 
apparel for display purposes. She was conscious that her 
position was assured, and consequently she preferred by her 
example to appear unostentatious and natural. She abhorred 
idle conversation and tale-bearing. She knew every poor 
person in the church. If they were sick or in distress in body, 
mind or estate she was prompt to aid them. 

Their residence was a long distance from the church, and in 
fall, winter and spring the road was often in bad condition. 
The doctor, however, rarely failed to be on hand, not only 
Sundays, but at the Wednesday evening prayer-meeting, and 
Mrs. Lord almost always accompanied him. It was not her 
way to say, " Husband, it is too stormy, you will not be 
expected." Instead of this, if it were necessary, she would 
harness the horse and drive herself. 

There are those who, from a mistaken estimate of Mrs. 
Lord, are inclined to give undue predominance to her devo- 
tion to dumb animals, and not give her enough credit for other 
characteristics. But those who, like myself, knew and saw her 
in the various walks and relations of life for over forty-three 
years, were fully convinced that she was invaluable in her 



152 Biographies ami Joiirnalisni. 

assistance of Dr. Lord, a broad-minded Christian philanthro- 
pist, a lover of children and one who unselfishly endeavored 
to ennoble our race. She lived not for herself alone but to do 
good. She was the child before marriage of affluence, yet she 
so lived, moved and had her being as to excite in those less 
favored by fortune no feelings of envy, hatred or uncharitable- 
ness. Again, as the wife of one of nature's noblemen, as the 
wife of a pastor of one of the most wealthy, influential and 
widely-known churches in the state, she so deported herself as 
to win golden opinions from all sorts of people. She was 
beloved by all whose good opinion was worth having. Numer- 
ous instances might be adduced, did my limits permit, of her 
generosity. She did not weary in well-doing. Her delight 
was to relieve the suffering, watch over those afflicted, comfort, 
soothe and sustain those who were weak in body and purse. 
She was especially fond of children. Her heart warmed 
towards them. She seemed permeated with the inspired sen- 
timent, " of such is the kingdom of heaven." Oftentimes has 
the writer of this seen her driving by, riding behind her 
favorite ponies, with a carriage full of little ones; it was diffi- 
cult to tell who derived the most pleasure from the drive. 
Wherever she went she communicated to those with whom 
she came in contact the joyousness of her own spirit and 
nature. 

As an illustration of her sympathetic nature I make mention 
of one incident which made an ineffaceable impression upon 
my heart. When the body of our first-born, a beautiful boy 
of some four years of age, lay in a casket in our Edward- 
street home, Mrs. Lord (who had known and loved him) came 
to pay a visit of condolence. Witnessing our grief, and after 
having taken a last view of the departed, she exclaimed, 
" Never mind what Dr. Lord says about spiritual consolation 



Mrs. John C. Lord. 153 

and divine providence; that's all very well, but have your cry 
out ; 1 would, if I had lost such a child." 

Mrs. Lord was interested in many of the benevolent and 
religious movements of the city. She aided in the organiza- 
tion of the orphan asylum in 1836. She established a tent 
religious Sabbath service on her grounds, which was kept up 
for several years during the summer season, attended by the 
infirm in her neighborhood and by those who had no church 
home. She was a woman of great energy and of positive 
convictions. Her opinion once formed she adhered to it. She 
had a vigorous intellect and a sound literary judgment. Dr. 
Lord was in the habit of submitting to her literary criticism 
his carefully-prepared papers, and her criticisms were with 
him canons of authority. 

She was religious without bigotry, pious without cant. She 
enjoyed the good of life until she could no longer act her part, 
she then had no longer a wish to live. This was no morbid 
feeling. It was religious in its spirit of resignation ; it was 
philosophic in its sense of the fitness of the order of life and 
death. She loved Buffalo as one of its own children who had 
witnessed its growth from a hamlet on the western border of 
population to a great city that grasps in its commercial arms 
the continent. Her father had been a conspicuous figure in 
its early and her husband in its later history. She shared her 
husband's faith and pride in the destiny of Buffalo. And no 
man had a more glowing vision of that destiny than Dr. Lord. 

It may be doubted if of all the strangers who sought her 
acquaintance — and few women were so widely known — one ever 
left her presence without feeling that he met a character of 
striking originality and, if there was occasion to reveal it, a 
heart overflowing with charity. And here was the strength of 
her life. All her wit and humor, and, at times, grotesqueness, 



154 Biographies and Journalism. 

were never dissociated from the most active sympathy with 
every form of suffering of man or beast. 

The good Scotch Dr. Brown who has written so deHghtfuIly 
of " Rab and his Friends," and Lady Burdett Coutts, who 
erected the memorial monument in Edinburgh to the dog 
Bobbie, who for fourteen years did not leave his master's 
grave, but kept watch and ward through winter's storm and 
summer's heat, until death gave him release, were not more 
devoted friends of the canine race than Mrs. LORD. She was 
always attended by some of her pets — and some of them, it 
must be confessed, were not " things of beauty." But if any 
poor waif — and many a waif found her house that had lost his 
master — lacked the graces of doghood, he received a name of 
atoning dignity. " Julius Caesar," " Napoleon Bonaparte," 
" Grandfather," " Beelzebub," or some other loft)' title was 
bestowed, and he was granted the freedom of the house. 
The writer was once calling upon Dr. Lord in his library with 
a gentleman from abroad, who wished to pay his respects to 
the Doctor and Mrs. LORD. She entered the room with three 
or four pets in attendance. 

The good doctor, more than willing to part company with 
the " dogs in waiting " just then, said to their mistress, 
" Dear, what a troop you have brought into the library." 
" Dr. Lord," she replied, with an apologetic glance for him 
at the stranger, " you know there are but fourteen dogs on 
the place, and that is not to be complained of." It is needless 
to say the dogs remained to do their part of the honors of 
the house. 

A history of the virtues of the canine race could be com- 
piled from her library. Not an instance of fidelity of dogs 
to masters, not an instance of cruelty to domestic animals, 
has floated about in the newspapers for years that she has 



Mrs. John C. Lord. 155 

not preserved. This characteristic so well known is here 
named because it was so marked and because it was an 
expression of that sympathy which flowed from her great 
heart to every creature of God that appealed to it. No 
appeal from suffering man or beast was ever made to her 
in vain. Her house was the seat of charity, and the poor 
had in her an unfailing friend. She was charitable in her 
opinions. If she could not speak well, she would not 
speak ill, of people in the ordinary relations of life. But for 
acts of oppression and cruelty she had words of detestation 
and abhorrence. 

Long before Mr. Bergh organized his protective society, 
she was the watchful friend of the brute races that serve us. 
She never saw an instance of cruelty to animals that she did 
not rebuke, and often invoked the aid of the law to punish 
the aggressor. There is a story told that she once sat for 
hours by the roadside waiting for a cruel teamster either to 
unload or get another horse to aid in drawing the load. 
He tired first and obeyed her command. When Mr. Bergh 
organized the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty 
to Animals, she at once put herself in communication with 
him, and the result was the speedy organization of a branch 
society in Buffalo, with ex-President Fillmore as its chief 
officer. For almost twenty years she has labored in season 
and out of season in the cause. At the time of her death 
she v/as the honorary president, having declined, on account 
of her age, to longer be the responsible head of the society 
to which she was chosen after Mr. Fillmore's death. Her 
activity in this line of humanity brought her into relations 
with humane institutions abroad. In 1882 she received from 
the Humane Society of Turin, Italy, the " diploma of honor." 
She was an honorar}' member of the American Society, of 



156 Biographies and yoiii-iialisin. 

which Mr. 15crgh is the head, and vice-president of the 
American Humane Association. 

In this connection I give entire the eloquent and high 
encomium upon deceased from the Hon. Henry Bergh, who 
has won world-wide fame as a philanthropist and noble- 
minded man : 

" In the death of the late Mrs. J. C. Lord the cause of 
animal protection loses a true and able friend. There are 
divers descriptions of 'animal friends' in the world, each of 
whom, while they have a certain claim on our admiration, 
leaves something to be desired. One, for example, is a friend 
in the abstract. Such a one is shocked at the recital of an 
act of cruelty, while the sight of it is intolerable. This 
species of friend is strictly emotional and impracticable, and 
usually confines himself to mild protests and recommendations 
to others to abate the evil. A second is endowed with a 
pet cruelty of his own, but sees with marvellous clearness the 
smaller offense of another. Such a one will clip off the 
natural coverings of the horse at the approach of winter ; 
apply checks and bits which occasion to the unresisting animal 
an agony as profound as it is unspeakable; hunt with dogs a 
frightened hare or deer, or race a baby horse, two years old, 
using its immature powers to gamble with ! A third, regarded 
by the former as belonging to a social scale too low for aught 
else than exceptional association, confines his friendship to 
the contests of animals, holding, as did the late Mr. Kit Burns, 
that all abuses of them except dog and cock-fighting are 
eminently cruel and demoralizing. A fourth constitute that 
vast army of do-nothings, who are full of sympathy, but can 
never find time to interfere with, or go to court, so they heave 
a gentle sigh at the spectacle of an abused creature, puff their 
cigarette, and hurry on to the counting-hcnisc ! 



Mrs. John C. Lo7'd. 157 

"Now the opposite of all this was the excellent lady whose 
decease we are called to mourn. She was wholly practical. 
Her long and useful life was based upon the hardest and 
soundest principles of justice, humanity and compassion. 
Holding in small esteem all those mere external accessories 
to humane existence, which are usually so much coveted by 
the world, she devoted the masculine energy of her nature to 
the defense of those humble creatures, which give to mankind 
more than half the benefits they possess. Soon after the 
organization of the parent society of America for the pro- 
tection of animals, she identified herself with the good work 
in her native City of Buffalo, summoning to her aid the late 
President Fillmore, and other philanthropic citizens. 

" For many years she labored in this humane vineyard, and 
lived long enough to sec the seeds she planted ripen into a 
bounteous harvest. Few persons know the strong beaut}' of 
her character or appreciate her philanthropic labors in the 
cause of humanity to man and beast better than the under- 
signed, nor is there one among the vast army of her friends, 
who more respected her while living, or now honor her 

memory more profoundly than he. 

Henry Bergh." 

From Philadelphia came the following feeling tribute : 
" At a stated meeting of the Woman's Branch of the Penn- 
sylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 
held on Wednesday, June 24, 1885, the following preamble and 
resolutions were unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, By the death of Mrs. JOHN C. LORD, of Buffalo, 
Honorary President of the Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Animals in that city, honorary member of the 
American Society and Vice-President of the American Humane 
Association, the cause has lost a friend remarkable for her 



158 Biographies and Joiirnalisni. 

generosity, courage and nobleness of nature, and for a large 
charity which embraced in its scope all created beings ; one 
who exerted herself to relieve the sufferings of animals before 
societies for their protection had existence in this country ; 

^^ Resolved, That while such a loss must be felt by all who 
love the merciful and just, it is far more keenly felt by those 
who were personally associated with the large-hearted lady, 
and who loved her as a fellow-worker, a helper or a friend. 

" Rcsidved, That the managers of the Woman's Branch;)of 
the Pennsylvania Society hereby tender their sincere sympathy 
to the Buffalo Society and to the bereaved family. 

Elizabeth Morris, 

Secretary." 

As an instance of Mrs. Lord's detestation of affectation, I 
recall the incident of her presentation of a historical play or 
burlesque given for the benefit of the Old Settler's Festival, 
in which she made the heroine a Mrs. Dolittle, who made a 
six-months European trip and traveled much. When she 
came back she was a bundle of mannerisms, changed her name 
to Du-la-tell, and put on all manner of style of the peacock 
order. There are those of the Du-ki-tell stripe in all com- 
munities, who are not too old to learn wisdom by experience. 

Her long and painful illness revealed all the sweetness of 
her nature. Her thoughtfulness for her kindred attendants, 
for her physicians, for her absent friends, were unfailing. She 
was ever self-denying, self- forgetting. It was the occasion, 
too, of many demonstrations of the public interest and regard. 
Her last days developed more clearly than before her deep- 
seated, profound Christian character. Her conversations to 
her intimate friends were permeated with sweet resignation, 
and exhibited a willingness to meet her Maker. She seemed 
ripe for heax-en. 



Mrs. John C. Lord. 159 

The final breaking up of that home, for a half century 
representative of the best consecrations of our cit)', seems to 
close an era of local history. Another generation is on the 
stage playing all the parts of the drama. The record has jet 
to be made of more loyal devotion to dut)' than that of this 
great-hearted woman. 

Mrs. Lord, during her husband's large sphere of personal 
activity and influence, was of invaluable assistance to him. 
Like many other men who may seem to the world engrossed 
with a public career, he was extremely sensitive to those 
domestic influences which were nearest to him, and from which 
he derived at once his greatest happiness and his best inspira- 
tion. In the making of a great man there is nothing so potent 
as the influence of a noble wife, who is her husband's best 
friend and counselor, his adviser in moments of perplexit)', 
and who cheers him in moments of depression, making his 
manly strength more effective as she supplements it by her 
womanly tact, and whose secret sway is more powerful because 
it is unseen. Such was the influence that cheered and blessed 
the late Dr. Lord during his long and active ministry, filling 
his home with sunshine and giving him the tenderest and 
strongest motive to exertion. It ma}' be truly said that to 
Dr. Lord it was everything to have the gentle presence of 
his wife always at his side. With every morning's light, as he 
began a new day, her true heart gave him new strength and 
courage for his duties. " They were lovely and pleasant in 
their lives, and in death they were not divided." Their deeds 
of charity will long be remembered. The poor had in them 
unfailing friends. It is said that Dr. Lord spent all his salary 
in acts of benevolence. 

But I must close this memoir. On the twent)'-sixth of May, 
1885, in the beautiful home in which she had so long lived 



i6o Biographies and yotir7ialisin. 

with her beloved companion in life, Mrs. JoHN C. Lord's 
spirit ascended to the God who gave it. In bidding farewell 
to this rare couple, whose "biographies" I have merely out- 
lined, I cannot resist the temptation to reproduce the immortal 
lines from " Thanatopsis," which I have fondly cherished from 
my boyhood : 

" So live that, when thy summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan that moves 

To that mysterious realm where each shall take J,^ 

His chamber in the silent halls of death, 
Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, 
Scourged to his dungeon ; but, sustained and sooth'd 
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave. 
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 



BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM G. BRYAN.* 



Characteristics — Governor Seymour — Remarks on his Character — Birthplace — 
Parents — His Early Education — Apprenticeship to the Printing Business — 
Commences the Study of Law — Obstacles in his Way — Continues the Study of 
Law with Judge Taggart — Admitted to the bar — A Partner of General Martin- 
dale — Ogden Land Company Litigation — Mr. Bryan's connection with it — 
Company Attempts to Remove the Indians from their Reservation — Jacob 
Thompson, Secretary of the Interior — General Denver — Caroline Parker, the 
Educated Indian Girl — Her Influence in the Controversy — Mr. Bryan Sustains 
the Indians — With Messrs. Martindale and Follett, Visits the President — Pro- 
ceedings at Washington — Mr. Bryan's Connection with the Legal Profession — 
His Political Career — His Character as a Writer — As Speaker — His Speech on 
the Death of Lincoln — His Speech on Laying the Corner Stone of the New York 
Institution for the Blind — Letter of George W. Clinton — Speech before the 
Genesee Agricultural Society — Lecture on Edmund Burke — Fenimore Cooper 
— Oliver Cromwell — Mr. Bryan's Marriage — His Tragic Death — Funeral 
Reflections. 



Europeans of thought and culture visiting our national 
capitol express great surprise and disappointment at the 
absence of eminent ability in our halls of congress. Neither 
the senate chamber, which once resounded with the elo- 
quence of such intellectual giants as Clay, Webster and 
Calhoun, nor the popular branch of our national legislature, 
which in times past was dignified by men of historic reputa- 
tion, like John Quincy Adams, and John Randolph, of 
Roanoke, now impress the spectator with any extraordinary 
respect for the talents and attainments of the men who make 
the laws and are supposed to govern the destinies of the 
republic. Neither in statesmanship, nor in ability as debaters, 
nor in the graces of scholarship, do those who are at the head 
of the nation come up to the generally accepted high position 

* By special permission, from L. B. Proctor's " Bench and Bar of New York." 



1 62 Biographies and yoiirnalisin. 

conceded to our country among the principal powers of Chris- 
tendom. We know better than our visitors how to account 
for this apparent decadence in our nation. We know that so 
flagrantly corrupt has become the machinery of party politics, 
that with rare exceptions the best men, the really ablest men 
in our land, are not now as of old to be found in official 
positions. Yet, neither in the learned professions, nor in the 
army, or in the navy, nor in those who adorn the mechanic 
arts, or in the great mass of our business and industrial classes, 
do we discover any signs of this falling off in the standard of 
patriotism, intellectual ability, development and progression 
which is requisite for our continued national advancement. 
So distasteful, however, to men of superior ability and 
character is the odious doctrine, that in politics the end justi- 
fies the means, that they prefer the independence of private 
life to that surrender of their self-respect and even honor that 
is too often demanded of those who seek political advance- 
ment. Too often, alas, much too often, as we read of gross 
corruption among those in high places, are we reminded of the 
truth of the old adage, that the post of honor is in a private 
station. 

Conspicuous in the long roll of eminent names that have 
conferred honor upon the legal profession in W^estern New 
York, stands that of the late William G. Bryan, of Batavia. 
His career, and the promising traits of his character, strikingly 
confirm the justice of our preliminary remarks. Deriving no 
dignity or consequence from official position, he, by his own 
unaided exertions, achieved a reputation as a lawyer, as an 
orator, as a scholar and a Christian gentleman, which enrolled 
him among the most honored and revered in our land. In 
the language of ex-Governor Seymour: "He was earnest, 
able, and chivalric. He made himself felt in every circle in 
which he moved. He gathered force and power as he moved 
on in the pathway of life, and I looked upon him as one who 
was to hold still more marked positions in our state and 



William G. Bryan. 163 

nation. God in His wisdom took him away wlien he seemed 
most needed by his family and state. We can only bow to 
His decree, and pray that in His mercy He may shape all this 
for our good." 

Mr. Bryan was the son of William and Mary Bryan, and 
was born in the City of Brighton, England, on the eighteenth 
day of January, 1822. His father, who is still living, is a man 
of rare intellectual faculties, and although he has attained the 
advanced age of seventy-two years, is still in the vigorous 
enjoyment of all his mental and physical powers. His mother, 
who died in 1836, was a woman of very superior intelligence, 
beauty of person, and grace of manner. She realized the ideal 
of the poet who wrote : 

" None knew her but to love her ; 
None named her but to praise." 

Mr. Bryan's father, believing that there were greater 
opportunities for the advancement of his children in the 
United States than in their native land, came to this country 
with his family in 1830, and, after a brief residence in New 
York and Utica, settled finally in Le Roy, Genesee County, 
where he embarked in business as a cabinet-maker. Appre- 
ciating fully the incalculable advantages of education, he 
afforded to his children the important aids to be derived from 
the best private schools and academies. Consequently, the 
early advantages of young BRYAN were excellent. They were 
fully improved, and largely promoted his success in after-life. 
Owing, however, to the financial and general business depres- 
sion and disasters of 1836 and 1837, his father was unable to 
continue him any longer at the academy at Le Roy, which 
he had been attending. And so, with a stout heart and a 
determination to make his way in the world, at the tender age 
of fifteen, in 1837, he commenced an apprenticeship to the 
printing business with D. D. Waite, Esq., then and at present 
proprietor of The Rcpublica)i Advocate, published at Batavia. 



164 Biographies and Joiirnalisin. 

It soon became apparent that the profession of the law was 
the one best suited to his tastes and rapidly developing pow- 
ers of mind, and he began to shape his studies and reading 
accordingly. 

In 1838, at the age of sixteen, he entered the office of Hon. 
Albert Smith, of Batavia, as a student of law. Never in the 
days of old, or in the present time, did student enter upon 
his studies with more enthusiasm, or with a nobler and firmer 
resolve, or with more hopefulness. His industry was untiring. 
He allowed no obstacles to discourage him. Teaching a 
district school by day, reading law, history, biography and 
classical literature in the long quiet hours of the night, attend- 
ing lectures, and seeking the society of the learned, refined and 
pure-minded, he soon began to make rapid and encouraging 
progression. He overcame the want of a collegiate education 
by his wonderful application, and attained a mastery not only 
of the English, but of the Latin and French languages. He 
also obtained a command of eloquence and logic, which ulti- 
mately placed him in the front rank of his profession. He 
entered the office of Hon. Moses Taggart in 1840. The 
personal kindnesses of the judge so impressed the mind and 
heart of the youthful aspirant for professional honors, that he 
became, and continued until his death, one of Judge Taggart's 
most devoted friends. Quickly and pleasantly glided away 
Mr. Bryan's student life, and he was admitted to practice 
when employed in the office of Messrs. Redfield & Pringle, 
at the land office in Batavia. He retained an interest in the 
business of the office from 1847 ^o 1850, at which time he 
formed a copartnership with Gen. John H. Martindale, and 
opened an office under the firm name of Martindale & Bryan. 

Upon the removal of Gen. Martindale to Rochester, Mr. 
Bryan, with Hon. Seth Wakeman, established the law firm of 
Wakeman & Bryan ; which partnership, together with the 
most intimate and cordial relations of friendship, continued 
until death rudel)' severed their nuituall)- delightful intercourse. 



]]^illiaui G. Bryan. 165 

In the spring of 185 1, during Mr. Bryan's professional 
connection with Gen. Martindale, an exceedingly important 
litigation was in progress between the Ogden Land Company 
and the Tonawanda band of Seneca Indians, involving the 
rights of the Indians to their reservation in the County of 
Genesee. This reservation comprised twelve thousand eight 
hundred acres of valuable land. From that time forward, 
until the final determination of the controversy, Mr. Bryan 
took an active and important part in the proceedings. 

In the winter of 1857 one of the actions (that of Blacksmith 
V. Fellows), which had arisen in the controversy, was argued 
in the Supreme Court of the United States. The court ad- 
judged that the Ogden Company had no right to enter and 
settle on the reservation, and could not maintain an action of 
ejectment to enforce their claims under the treaty with the 
Indians, but must await the action of the political department 
of the government, and the actual removal of the Indians by 
the political power. This decision was announced about the 
time of the accession of the late President Buchanan to the 
presidency. Soon after the commencement of his adminis- 
tration, with Hon. Jacob Thompson as Secretary of the 
Interior, and Gen. Denver as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 
the Ogden Land Company applied to these officers to remove 
the Indians from their reservation. Some years before, during 
the administration of President Taylor, an attempt had 
been made to enlist the political department of the govern- 
ment in measures designed to effect such removal; but those 
measures were unsuccessful, and the then Secretary of the 
Interior, Thomas Ewing, had declined to take any steps in aid 
of the land company. 

In 1857 their attempt was renewed on the assumed ground 
that the decision of the Supreme Court had made it the duty 
of the executive department of the government to interpose 
and put the company in possession. They were so far suc- 
cessful that Gen. Denver himself went to the reservation, 



1 66 Biographies and yoitrnalisni. 

accompanied by a number of the gentlemen who belonged 
to the land company. Their approach was the first intimation 
which the Indians and Messrs. Martindale & Bryan had of the 
new and hostile proceedings contemplated by the government. 
They immediately repaired to the reservation, and there met 
the commissioner, Gen. Denver, in a council of the Indians. 
The interpreter on the occasion was Caroline Parker, an edu- 
cated Indian girl, and sister of Gen. Ely Parker, the present 
Commissioner of Indian Affairs. The presiding chief and, 
speech-maker of the Indians was William Parker, her father. 
The proceedings of the council were intensely interesting. 
The Indians were alarmed. It seemed as though their long 
struggle to maintain their hold on the lands where they had 
been born — which their ancestors had held from time 
immemorial — which were now claimed under the provisions of 
a treaty never assented to by a single Tonawanda chief or 
warrior, as though all their efforts and hopes had been in vain. 
The commissioner told them that they must leave ; that the 
Supreme Court had decided against them ; and he called on 
them to declare whether they would go. 

The Chief, Parker, replied with composure, that they wished 
to hear from their counsel before giving him an answer. 
Therefore, their counsel told them that the decision of the 
Supreme Court had not been correctly understood by the 
commissioner, and that it was not the duty of the government 
to remove them. When this declaration was made, the com- 
missioner said with emphasis that he must have their answer 
distinctly, would they go or not? 

The interpreter, Caroline, who was standing near the coun- 
sel of the Indians, spoke hurriedly and apart: 

"What shall we do? we cannot go now ! " 

The counsel replied : 

" Caroline, you can but die." 

Immediately she turned, and in a few words addressed the 
Indians in her native lansruacfe. It was a scene not to be 



W'llliain G. Bryan. 167 

forgotten. The old Sachem, Parker, rose, without the 
sh'ghtest perturbation, and with perfect dignity and determi- 
nation (he was a large and handsome man), and said to the 
commissioner : 

" We will not go." 

Thereupon, after another short address by Caroline, the 
Indians immediately arose and left the council-house. 

After such a termination of the " talk," of course prompt 
and judicious action became necessary. And here the energy 
and peculiar ability of Mr. BRYAN were immediately and sig- 
nally displayed. He knew that the popular heart was in 
sympathy with the Indians; that justice was on their side; 
that forcible expulsion would be a hard and repulsive pro- 
ceeding for the new democratic administration, of which he 
had been an earnest and eloquent supporter. At once the 
newspapers began to give expression to the public feeling. 
His pen was at work. He procured letters of introduction to 
the President and Secretary of the Interior, from prominent 
men of his own party ; and when fully prepared, in company 
with Mr. Martindale, Hon. Frederick FoUett, and the Chief, 
Ely S. Parker, he proceeded to Washington. 

An interview was immediately had with the Secretary of the 
Interior. The secretary began it with strong impression that 
his executive duty required him to remove the Indians. The 
discussion was earnest and prolonged during three hours ; but 
it resulted in enlisting the powerful sympathies of the secre- 
tary, and disposed him to co-operate with the Indians in 
securing by another treaty, the extinction of the claims of the 
land company. During the whole litigation, it had not been 
possible for the Indians to controvert the fact that the land 
company had acquired the ultimate title to the reservation, 
which would become absolute whenever in the course of 
events the Indian occupancy should terminate. The Indians 
were entitled, when they should remove, to the possession of 
a large quantity of land in the Indian territory in the south- 



1 68 Biographies and yournalisni. 

eastern part of Kansas. But they repudiated all claims to this 
Kansas domain, asserting that they were not virtual parties to 
the treaty assigning it to them. In these circumstances, the 
solution considered by the secretary was the resumption of 
these Kansas lands by the government and the purchase for 
the Indians of the title of the land company to the Tonawanda 
reservation instead. The only danger to be apprehended was 
that the land company would refuse to sell, except at exorbi- 
tant prices. However, Messrs. Bryan and Martindale were 
willing to relieve the secretary from all trouble in that regard, 
and to assume the difficulties of the negotiation, which they 
foresaw would be insurmountable, if the executive department 
of the government, resuming the ground taken by the former 
Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Evving, should decline to expel 
the Indians by force. 

The secretary recommended that an interview be had with 
the president the following day. By his procurement, an 
appointment was made by the president to receive the " Tona- 
wanda delegation " at 12 M., and to confer with them thirty 
minutes. The delegation got ready. Mr. Martindale, with 
the co-operation of his assistants, prepared a condensed 
statement of their case. Shortly before twelve, as they sup- 
posed, on the next day, they repaired to the White House. 
Being ushered into the executive chamber and introduced to 
the president, he looked at his watch and admonished them 
that they were five minutes behind the time appointed. Mr. 
Follctt apologized, and placed the delay to the fault of the 
clock at Willard's Hotel. Mr. Martindale then said that they 
appreciated the importance of condensing what they had to 
present, that they had accordingly put their case in writing, 
and would proceed to read it, making such explanations as 
would enable the president immediately to comprehend it. 

" That is right, Mr. Martindale ; that is the way such busi- 
ness should be done," replied the president. 



WilliaDi G. Bryan. 169 

The reading proceeded ; the president became interested, 
and when it was conchided, he said : 

" Gentlemen, tell me what you want? " 

The reply was prompt. 

" Either let us alone until we have finished our struggle in 
the courts, or, take the Kansas lands, and give us the govern- 
ment price in money, and we will buy our place." 

The president rejoined: 

" Why not, Mr. Commissioner " (addressing General Denver, 
who was present), " why shouldn't we give them the money 
and cut this Gordian knot? " 

After a little hesitation, the commissioner answered, 

" I don't know why not." 

The delegation were very naturally quite jubilant. The 
thirty minutes were up. They rose to leave. 

" No, no," said the president, " you will please remain," and 
he went to the door and told the usher that he was engaged. 

The president entered heartily, warmly, considerately into 
the case. A stranger to it up to that time, he comprehended 
it at once, and by his prompt and judicious action, secured a 
band of seven hundred men, women and children, who had no 
claims on him except his sense of justice and compassion, in 
the possession of their ancient homes. Events, since then, 
have had their influence on the estimation in which the char- 
acter of President Buchanan will be considered ; but he will be 
kindly remembered in that band of Tonawandas — to them, he 
was the " Good " as well as the " Great Father." During the 
interview, one of the counsel of the Indians, having profes- 
sional engagements away from Washington, proposed to leave 
the settlement of details to his associates and the Commis- 
sioner of Indian Affairs. 

" No," interposed the president; " never take a second love 
until the first one is disposed of." 

This was a pertinent and appreciative illustration for a 



1 JO Biographies and Journalism. 

bachelor like the president. He then added very kindly and 
truthfully: 

"You will never have a more important litigation than 
this." 

The president then went through with an estimate of the 
money necessary in the case; indicated that a treaty should 
be had to consummate it, and finally dismissed the delegation 
with the assurance of success. 

Messrs. Bryan and Martindale then went to work with 
renewed zeal. It was necessary to get propositions from the 
members of the land company to sell out their prospective 
title, so as to show that a treaty would be operative. This 
duty occupied their time and thoughts during the summer. 
They were so far successful that in the following autumn a 
treaty was made between the United States and the govern- 
ment, by which the Kansas lands were valued at two hundred 
and fifty-six thousand dollars, and that sum was placed at the 
disposal of the Indians to secure their reservation. After 
protracted delays in the senate, the treaty was at length 
ratified in the session of 1859, a"<^ ^^^ negotiations for the 
purchase of the claims of the company were actively prose- 
cuted. The President and Secretary of the Interior had 
determined that the price to be paid should not exceed twenty 
dollars per acre. Many members of the land company were 
reluctant to accept that price, and probably never would have 
accepted it, but for the attitude taken by the government. 
Finally, the Indians concluded to reduce their reservation to 
seventy-five thousand acres, and to secure the investment of 
the portion of two hundred and fifty-six thousand dollars not 
used in the purchase of lands, so that annuities might be 
derived from it. The whole scheme was accordingly consum- 
mated during the year i860, and Mr. Brvan and his associates 
had the satisfaction of meeting the Tonawandas in council and 
hearing the exultant and descriptive congratulations of one 



William G. Bryan. i 7 1 

of the chiefs, as he pronounced the Indian idea of a title in 
fee simple : 

" Now we own our lands from the center of the earth to 
the heavens." 

Hon. Charles Daniels, Justice of the Supreme Court, 
and an honor to our American judiciary, thus wrote regarding 
Mr. Bryan's professional attainments: 

" The death of Mr. BryaN was a positive loss to the legal 
profession of the western portion of the State of New York. 
His age, acquirements and temperament placed him in the 
front rank of lawyers, while his personal integrity and 
immovable fidelity to the duties of his professional employ- 
ment rendered him an invaluable assistant to his clients. 
Whatever the interests were which were entrusted to him, 
they were always sure to receive all the faithful, earnest 
attention they deserved. In fact, the zeal manifested by him 
in the discharge of his engagements rarely allowed him to 
stop at that point ; for it often induced him to continue and 
protract' his investigation and reflection beyond what was 
required for the purpose of securing simply a practical con- 
clusion upon the subject which for the time might occupy his 
attention. He feared to be wrong, and therefore endeavored 
to fortify his convictions after he had become satisfied that 
they were right. This, perhaps, is not an uncommon trait in 
intelligent, active members of the legal profession, but with 
him it was of a marked and emphatic nature — so much so as 
to render him eminently well adapted to care for and protect 
the important rights that are necessarily so often committed 
to the charge of counsel. 

" While he possessed all the acquirements requisite for the 
advocate, and all the ability for the clear and forcible pre- 
sentation of matters of fact, he did not appear in that capacity 
before a jury without evident indications of diffidence. He 
did not confidently measure the full extent of the intellectual 
powers he possessed for the discharge of the duties of the 



172 Biographies and yoiirnalism. 

advocate. If he had, the knowledge he never failed to have 
of his cause, combined with the ease and candor with which 
his arguments and. views were always presented, would have 
been certain to have secured him very great success in that 
department of professional practice. This is a failing often 
found in men of intellect and talent ; and it is unfortunate 
for the public that it is so, for it permits persons of inferior 
ability to take the positions and enjoy the advantages for 
which they are too often not qualified, because those who by 
their acquirements are fitted for them, lack the boldness and 
assurance necessary to attain them. 

"Before the court none of this constitutional timidity was 
manifested. There he always appeared to feel at ease; and 
for that reason his cases were well presented, the points in 
them clearly stated and the arguments properly elaborated. 
He never failed to see and comprehend all there was of 
the case he had at the time in hand, and was consequently 
prepared to enforce his own views and promptly answer those 
maintained by his opponent. 

" He was an accomplished, affable and dignified member of 
the profession, and his early death has left a vacant space 
which it will be difficult to supply by any one having so 
general an adaptation to the discharge of all the duties of 
the position." 

Mr. Bryan took a prominent and important part in political 
affairs. From his very boyhood he espoused the principles 
and advocated the measures of the democratic party. He 
believed the principles of American democracy were the 
corner-stone of our civil and religious freedom. He was 
thoroughly conversant with the writings and teachings of 
those grand old chieftains who were equally an honor to 
their party and the nation. The works and productions of 
the fathers of ciemocracy, Jefferson, Madison and Monroe, 
of the illustrious Thomas Hart Benton, of Missouri, of 
Silas Wright and Martin Van Buren, were as familiar to him 



William G. Bryan. i ']'i^ 

as household words. He threw his whole energies into the 
advocacy of his political principles. He was a most effective 
campaigner. He was as true as steel, whether fortune frowned 
or smiled upon the party. Whether the democratic banner 
trailed in the dust as in 1840, 1848, i860 and 1864, or when 
the democracy carried the presidential elections in 1844, in 
1852 and 1856, he was equally zealous, uncompromising and 
reliable in the support of what he regarded as the true 
principles upon which the government of the country should 
be administered. His voice was heard trumpet-tongued, 
cheering on the democratic hosts at mass-meetings in towns 
and in cities, and the productions of his pen animated the 
democratic columns through the newspapers of the party in 
various portions of the state. He was, at the urgent request 
of his democratic friends, once a candidate for the assembly, 
and just before his death, in 1867, he respectfully declined 
the nomination unanimously tendered him by the Democratic 
Senatorial Convention for the twenty-ninth district, composed 
of the Counties of Niagara, Orleans and Genesee. He was 
over and over again a delegate to state conventions, several 
times to national conventions, and in those positions he 
invariably exhibited ability, tact and zeal. His manly and 
effective oratory, matured judgment, ever genial manner and 
spotless character, combined to make him a power in the 
democratic ranks, and he shared in the councils of those who, 
like Horatio Seymour, Dean Richmond, Edwin Crosswell, 
Heman J. Redfield and Sanford E. Church, were its acknowl- 
edged leaders. Had he not loved honor and principle more 
than personal aggrandizement or office — had he been a time- 
server or trimmer, he could, by turning recreant to his political 
principles, largely have advanced his pecuniary interests and 
obtained in addition the so -much -coveted dignities and 
emoluments of office. But he cared not that Genesee County, 
and indeed nearly the entire western portion of the state, 
were politicall)' strongly antagonistic to his part)\ The 



I 74 Biographies and yournalism. 

guiding-star of his life was principle, and neither as a lawyer, 
nor as a politician, nor as a citizen, did he ever swerve from it. 
Such men give character to a party. Such men attract their 
fellow-men to its standard. Such men make a party strong 
in the right. Fortunate would it be for both parties and the 
country if we had more like him. 

As a writer, Mr. Bryan was able, vigorous, painstaking, and, 
as occasions demanded and presented themselves, elegant and 
brilliant. The columns of the principal daily papers in the 
state, as well as the local papers in Genesee and the adjoining 
counties, were through a long series of years enriched by 
contributions from his pen. How versatile were his gifts! 
How much of research and investigation his articles exhibited ! 
What an affluence of diction was at his command ! What a 
wealth of language ! How he threw his whole soul as it were 
into the advancement of all measures and improvements 
calculated to promote the general welfare ! How invaluable 
he was to the public interests of his section of the state ! 
How often was his charming eloquence heard in the halls 
of justice, in the lecture-room, before county agricultural 
societies, on patriotic occasions and at public festivities! Now 
eulogizing the illustrious departed — then again encouraging 
the living.' What a bright — what a hopeful spirit was his! 
How rare were his conversational powers! How he interested, 
charmed, instructed ! How brilliant were his sallies of wit 
and humor! How he loved the beautiful in art! How he 
attracted one towards him by his unaffected dignity and true 
manhood ! How nobly he strove to make the world better 
for his existence ! He scorned those who crook the pregnant 
hinges of the knee that thrift may follow fawning. What a 
host in and of himself! How self-reliant! 

It is not consistent with the limits of this memorial that we 
should publish Mr. Bryan's speeches in full, or even give 
extracts from any great portion of them. Many of them 
were models of eloquence and classic in their style. He was 



William G. Bryan. 175 

always up to the requirements of the occasion. Whether 
before a court, or addressing an enthusiastic poHtical meeting, 
or lecturing in the presence of select and discriminating 
audiences on literary subjects, he was equally happy. We 
cannot refrain from recalling to mind a few prominent illus- 
trations of his oratorical power. When the whole country 
was in mourning by reason of the fiendish assassination of 
the patriotic and revered President, Abraham Lincoln, public 
meetings were everywhere held to give expression to the 
sense of the people upon the awful national calamity. One 
was held at Batavia, and Mr. Bryan was invited to deliver 
the address. Few who heard him on that occasion will forget 
the effort or the orator. From the plaintive opening of the 
address with " My sorrowing fellow-citizens," to the impres- 
sively eloquent close, he was listened to with the most 
profound interest and unwearied attention. Mr. Brvan, in a 
masterly manner, portrayed the enormity of the crime of the 
assassin. The foul murder of our beloved chief magistrate 
was a blow aimed at the sovereignty of the people, who had 
chosen him at the ballot-box. It was the darkest day in our 
history as a nation, when its constitutional head was brutally 
murdered by the pistol-shot of Booth. The speaker alike 
charmed and soothed all present by the exceeding appro- 
priateness of his language and the kindness and sincerity of 
the feeling he exhibited. In discussing the character and 
public acts of the martyred president, he displayed so much 
magnanimity, delicacy and independence of criticism, that he 
won the admiration and approval of men of all political 
parties. 

Upon the important occasion of laying the corner-stone of 
the New York State Institution for the Blind at Batavia, on 
the sixth day of September, 1866, Mr. Bryan was selected 
as one of the orators. He had been especially active and 
instrumental in effecting the location of the institution at 
Batavia ; and subsequently he materially promoted the pro- 



I 76 Biographies and yoiirnalism. 

gress of the noble charity. The address is such a fine 
specimen of condensed eloquence, that we give it entire : 

" Fellow-citizens : You are this day to witness an inter- 
esting ceremony. Our great state has decreed that an edifice 
of her own shall rise upon this fair eminence, consecrated to 
the instruction and care of the blind. Its name, ' The New 
York State Institution for the Blind,' declares that it is to 
be the child of the state, and the f;\ith and honor of the state 
are pledged to its completion and support. Genesee may be 
proud that its beautiful county seat was designated as its site, 
and that her sons presented to the state these ample grounds. 
One sad recollection only obtrudes. The eminent citizen, 
who was foremost and largest in his oft'ering to this and so 
many other beneficent objects, was not spared to rejoice 
with us to-day. 

" We come to add another to the roll of the great charitable 
institutions of the world. We come in that spirit which is 
' thrice blessed,' to lay the foundation of a structure to relieve 
and soothe the smitten and afflicted — not in the interest of 
war, or cruelty, or violence, but swayed by the high and 
advancing civilization of the nineteenth century — for mercy 
'hath now her victories not less renowned than war.' 
New York commanded this structure to come forth. May 
its walls ascend in strength and grace ; may it rank with the 
first and best in any land, and may its career be long and 
glorious ! Thus hopeful and trusting, let us listen to the 
voice of prayer and the word of God." 

The Honorable George W. Clinton, of Buffalo, in a letter 
addressed to a member of Mr. Bryan's family, thus beautifully 
alludes to the literary power and tastes of the subject of 
this memoir : 

" Mr. Bryan's addresses were permeated by that goodness 
which exalts mediocrity, and without which genius is baleful. 
He was emphatically an honest man, and worshiped truth 
and the Author of all Truth in the humble, loving spirit of 



Will 2 a ui G. Bryan. 177 

Christianity. In his literary and historical productions he 
exhibited nice discrimination of character, a power of meeting 
exact justice and more laborious research than could reasonably 
have been expected from one having so many demands upon 
his time. His style was a model of clearness, with all due 
polish, and was ornate, without excess. 

" From what I have seen of his written efforts, they prove 
that with an undivided devotion to literature he would have 
become eminent." 

Can anything be more chaste and graphic than the following 
peroration of an address delivered by Mr. Br VAN several years 
ago before a county agricultural fair in " Old Genesee "? 

" The pale denizens of city and village, tiring of life on the 
pavements, are clamorous for more room, and bits of pasture, 
and fresher air, and hence purchase and improve farms or 
lots formerly considered outside of and beyond any financial 
market, and all proper village limits. The extreme outer lots 
are now prized as most eligible and valuable. If such is the 
tendency nozv, how accelerated will be the movement towards 
the farm — country-ward ; when each highway is dotted with 
the most beautiful of our native shade-trees ; when the last 
ugly patch of bushes and weeds has vanished from the fields, 
and even clumps of forest or woodland are trimmed and 
cleaned and underbrushed — like so many picnic groves ; when 
farmers' gardens and flower-pots shall broaden and beautify, 
and over the farmer's porch the ivy, or woodbine, or honey- 
suckle shall creep and twine, and fountains shall spout in the 
farmer's door-yard. 

" I am not mad, Mr. President, in venturing the prediction 
that in the perfection of agricultural tillage — in able and 
artistic management and rotation of crops, in the wealth of 
orchards and nurseries, and in the number and quality of 
live stock, ' Old Genesee,' less than a quarter of a century 
onward, will not be eclipsed by the landscape gardeners of 



I 78 Biographies and yournalisin. 

Belgium, or even by the rich and indomitable farmers and 
cattle breeders of England herself. 

" Those will be halcyon days for the true farmers of 
Genesee — her soil a garden, its tillers noble by nature's own 
heraldry, her daughters ladies even in their own might and 
right, and all her sons, industrial or professional, from office 
and shop and forge, prospered and blessed in the bounty 
and richness of her agricultural products and the success 
of a farmer's life. 

" ' In ancient times the sacred plow employed 
The kings and awful fathers of mankind, 
And some, with whom compared your insect tribes 
Are but the beings of a summer day. 
Have held the scale of empire, ruled the storm 
Of mighty war, then, with unwearied hand, 
Disdaining little delicacies, seized 
The plow, and greatly independent lived.'" 

Perhaps the most classical as well as the most successful of 
Mr. Bryan's many written literary performances, was the 
lecture which he pronounced upon Edmund Burke. From 
the exordium to the close, it fairly sparkled with gems. We 
quote a few sentences: "The reign of George III. presents 
some of the most striking features in English history. 
Stretching through a period of fifty-nine years, it gave to 
the world a series of public men the most brilliant and 
extraordinary, and it closed, leaving the British empire in 
the full march of grandeur and prosperity. In the midst of 
the conquests and convulsions which desolated Europe, no 
invader had polluted her soil, no danger had shaken her 
institutions. The armies of France, led by the greatest 
captain of the age, had been vanquished ; her colonies 
captured, her fleets driven from the ocean. The eyes of the 
intelligent and stubborn old king, darkened alike by the 
infirmities of age and the mists of disease, were closed by 
the fourth Guelph, in 1820, and his remains borne to the 
royal vaults at Windsor. 



William G. Bryan. i 79 

" Industrious to a proverb — frugal to a farthing — irreproach- 
able in private life — versed in the detail of politics beyond any 
ruler of his day — devoted to the wants of his people, but 
unflinching in his adherence to prerogative, he outlived all the 
greater lights which had revolved about his throne. Promi- 
nent among the illustrious men of that period stood Edmund 
Burke. * * * i have in my mind the grand form of an 
American statesman, now deceased, whose political opinions 
I did not fully share, but whose great powers none could more 
ardently admire, who stands towards this generation like 
Burke and Bolingbroke towards the last — as a man of fnll 
mind whose words were thoughts — and who, with prodigious 
resources of idea and language, combined like them the marvel 
and the miracle of speaking and writing well — whose grave 
and pungent sentences are destined to the reverence of future 
ages. There are many points of resemblance between the 
statesman of Marshfield and the statesman of Beaconsfield. 
* * '^ It was the friend of their latter days — the orator, 
the dramatist, and the minstrel Sheridan — who said of Mr. 
Burke, ' To whom I look up with homage, whose genius is 
commensurate to his philanthropy, whose memory will stretch 
itself beyond the bounds of any little temporary shuffling 
through the whole range of human knowledge and of honor- 
able aspirations after human good, as large as the system 
which forms life, as lasting as those objects which adorn it. 
A gentleman whose abilities, happily for the glory of the age 
in which we live, are not intrusted to the perishable eloquence 
of the day, but will live to be the admiration of that hour 
when all of us shall be mute and most of us forgotten.' " 

His appreciation of the writings and style of the illustrious 
literary men of our day and generation may be inferred from 
the following extracts from the lecture which Mr. Bryan 
delivered before the Batavia Lyceum, on January 4, i860: 

" In the loss of statesmen and orators following each other 
in the dread path in rapid succession the country has mourned 



i8o Biographies and Joiiriialisni. 

its Calhoun and Clay and Webster — a matchless trio — who 
had become, as it were, so many powers in the state, self- 
existent, self-sustaining, and independent of the caprices of 
political fancy. They expired when their intellects were still 
in full vigor and their forces still waxing stronger — they all 
met death with the robes of office about them, and with official 
duties still undischarged. On the fifth day of September, 
185 I, at his residence in Cooperstown, near the banks of that 
beautiful lake, and amidst scenery which his pen has so vividly 
illustrated, yet in the prime of advanced manhood, with facul- 
ties unimpaired, and with the strongest assurances of comfort 
from faith in that religion which he had believed and practiced 
from infancy — died the great American novelist, James Feni- 
more Cooper. One of the most brilliant and original of our 
literary lights was extinguished by the inevitable messenger, 
and he who had so often depicted with thrilling accuracy the 
last hours of the soldier and civilian — the flight of the spirit 
into the unknown world, from camp or wilderness, or war-path 
amid the tiger strife of battle, was himself introduced into its 
awful precincts. * * * 

" He founded two new schools of literature, and made them 
exclusively his own. He was among the first who enabled us, 
in reply to the question, ' Who reads an American book ? ' to 
answer, ' The world.' He has illustrated with matchless 
energy and beauty all that is sublime and interesting in the 
scenery of his country. He has exalted the position of that 
country among reading and thinking classes of every country. 
On the Rhine, the Volga, the Ganges, at Ispahan, wherever a 
book-stall can be reached, he is the companion of prince and 
of peasant, and the fire of his blazing imagery loses but little 
force in translation. While others imitated in tame mediocrity 
the leading writers of the old world, he invented a style and 
subjects of his own. While others copied, he produced origi- 
nals. While others were content with an approach to the 
European standard, like a true American he sought to make a 



W'illiaDi G. Bryan. i8i 

higher standard for himself. Where even the name of Wash- 
ington is scarcely known, the fame of the great American 
novelist has extended, and in climes where the speeches of 
our statesmen are never read, the beauties of Cooper are as 
household words. * * * 

" Sir, his works will bloom in perennial beauty when the 
colors of the painter shall have faded and the arch of the 
sculptor be broken. The efforts of true genius are immortal 
and cannot, but by annihilating, die." 

How much thought, how much grandeur of expression are 
contained in the above sentences ! What a pure, what an 
ennobling imagination was his ! In a lecture upon Oliver 
Cromwell, Mr. Bkyan displayed remarkable descriptive power, 
as is exhibited by the following extract : 

'* Wherever the English language is spoken or the English 
common law adopted, the name of Chief Justice Hale is a 
synonym for whatever is sagacious in legal judgment or unpur- 
chasable in judicial integrity. Milton was the Latin or Foreign 
Secretary of Cromwell, and the fast friend of his administra- 
tion. That administration he defended in a series of papers 
of transcendant ability and elegance. He conducted several 
of its negotiations and wrote some of its most finished corre- 
spondence. Not even in his ' Paradise Lost' does he stand 
upon a pedestal of higher or more unapproachable excellence 
than in those voluminous essays in defense of civil and religious 
liberty and the freedom of the press. His stately pen, that 
never, never for a moment laid aside its costly lore or its 
austere majesty, was frequently employed by the parliament 
to answer and to silence the attacks of its unrelenting and 
accomplished opponents. The best and finest parts of each 
contending faction seemed to be embodied in his life and 
opinions. Now, and centuries hence, his name will never be 
mentioned by the scholar or the student without emotions of 
the most wonderful admiration and the most profound rever- 
ence. Before his brilliant fancy were unveiled spirits too 



1 82 Biographies and yoiirnalism. 

bright for earth. Angels clad in celestial armor and the 
sapphire fount ; the crystal walls ; brooks that rolled on orient 
pearl ; Hesperian fruit ; flowers worthy of paradise ; stones of 
costliest emblem. To his ear intent were wafted the chorus 
of the cherubim and the sounds of their golden harps." 

Mr. Bryan was married on the twenty-fourth of February, * 
1848, to Miss Ruth Beardsley, daughter of Dr. Theodore 
Beardsley, of York, Livingston County. This union was of 
unalloyed happiness, and their home at Batavia has ever beeii 
the seat of refinement and hospitality. Mrs. Bryan, who sur- 
vives her beloved partner in life, is a lady whose accomplish- 
ments and attainments, as illustrated for upwards of twenty 
years, have won for the educational institution of which she is 
principal, a reputation second to none in the state. One child 
only, a daughter of seventeen, survives her father. One 
brother, Mr. George J. Bryan, now and for many years editori- 
ally connected with the daily press of Buffalo, and Mr. Bryan's 
father are all that the ravages of time have spared of a family 
of eight persons. 

But this honorable and useful career was soon to close. On 
the twenty-fifth day of October, 1867, at Burlington, Iowa, 
nearly a thousand miles away from his home — far away from 
his devoted and sorrow-stricken wife and beloved daughter- 
far away from the scene of his labors and triumphs in life's 
battle — far away, too, from the hills and valleys of old Genesee 
— despite the untiring and heroic efforts to avert his inevitable 
fate which were put forth by those who cared for him and 
watched his last moments, the spirit of WiLLIAM G. BRYAN 
ascended to the God who gave it. 

It appears that Mr. Bryan, then on a visit to Mr. and Mrs. 
Carper, at Burlington, Iowa, was taking a ride in a buggy with 
Mrs. Carper, and when in the vicinity of Olmstead's Mills, near 
that city, they halted for a passing train of cars. On starting 
up the horse, Mr. Bryan accidentally dropped one of the 
lines, and was in the act of reaching over the dash to recover 



IVilliani G. Bryan. 1 8 



o 



it when the animal made a sudden start, throwin^^ Mr. Bryan 
with great violence across the buggy, striking the back of his 
neck on the wheel ; he still clutching the line the horse was 
drawn around, upsetting the vehicle and throwing them both 
out. Those who witnessed the accident state that the first 
fall was the fatal one, as he was evidently insensible after that. 
The physicians are of the opinion that the spinal cord was so 
injured as to paralyze the brain, causing immediate insensibility, 
from which he never recovered. 

The feeling of regret inspired by his untimely decease was 
universal. It was not confined to formal notices from courts, 
nor to eulogies from his professional brethren, who felt that 
one eminent in their ranks had fallen. The merchant in his 
counting-house, the mechanic in his shop, the laborer leaning 
over his hod, and the sturdy yeomanry in their quiet homes, 
heard the announcement with heartfelt sorrow. A committee, 
exceptionally large in numbers, composed of the representa- 
tive men of Genesee County, proceeded to Buffalo, where they 
met the remains of their late beloved friend and escorted them 
to that home at Batavia which, but a few days before, he had 
left in the full vigor of his noble faculties. Too full for utter- 
ance were the hearts of those friends of his boyhood and of 
his maturer years, as they marched silently and respectfully 
behind the now inanimate form of one who, when living, was 
so near and dear to them. 

The honors paid to the memory of Mr. Bi-lyan were of the 
most impressive character. The members of the bar of Gene- 
see County, the citizens of Batavia, without distinction of 
party, and vestry of St. James' (Episcopal) Church of Batavia, 
in which Mr. BRYAN was an honored associate, met in due 
time and gave expression, in touching and appropriate lan- 
guage, to their profound sense of the great and almost irrep- 
arable loss not only Genesee County but the state had sustained. 
Many daily and weekly papers in Western New York contained 
"■lowing and heartfelt eulogies of deceased. The Batavia 



184 Biographies and Journalisin. 

Spirit of tJic Times came out with all the inside columns 
draped in mourning, a tribute, so far as our knowledge extends, 
never before paid to a private citizen. 

The funeral of Mr. BRYAN took place on Thursday, October 
31, 1867. The services were held at St. James' (Episcopal) 
Church, and a very large concourse of the inhabitants of 
Batavia and vicinity, as well as from the neighboring cities 
and villages, assembled to pay the last tribute of respect 
to the honored dead. The merchants closed their stores and 
business generally was suspended in town. The services 
were conducted by the Rev. M. Fowler, the pastor of the 
church, and were listened to with the most profound atten- 
tion. The remains were then conveyed to the cemetery, 
being followed to their final resting-place by a long line of 
mourning friends. Never was more heartfelt sorrow more 
unaffectedly and impressively demonstrated. 

Such accumulated testimonials of respect encourage us. 
They assure us that the popular heart is sound to the core. 
They convince us that true worth and character and real 
ability are appreciated, even in days when there is so much 
counterfeit, so much pretension, so much of the unreal. We 
cannot but deeply deplore the loss of one who led so blameless 
a life, and accomplished so much in comparatively a short 
time. What a brilliant future was in store for him ! Verily, 
there is a " Divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them as 
we will." In his almost tragically-sudden demise we are again 
impressed with the truth and sublimity of that ever memorable 
utterance of one of Britain's noblest orators (and one which 
Mr. Bkyan dearly loved to quote), " What shadows we are, 
and what shadows we pursue ! " 



JOURNALISM. 



A PAPER 



READ UliKORE 



THE BUFFALO HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



Club Meeting, Jicld at the Residence of Hon. Elhridge 
G. Spau/ding, Monday Eve., Jan. 24, iSj6, 



GEORCxE J. BRYAN, 

Editor and Proprietor of the Buffalo Evening Post. 



JOURNALISM. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Historical Society: 

No book is without a preface. When a new journal is con- 
templated it has its prospectus. When a new theatre is opened 
its manager speaks a piece called a prologue. Sermons are 
preached from texts. This paper therefore requires an intro- 
duction. What the ablest intellects of the world have thought 
cannot but have weight in arousing interest in my subject. 
My hearers will be satisfied, I think, with a few quotations 
from men illustrious for their genius and attainments who, 
in epigrammatic sentences, have paid tribute to the Press. 

Richard Brinsley Sheridan, in one of his impassioned orator- 
ical efforts, said : " Give me but the liberty of the Press and 
I will give to the minister a venal house of peers — I will give 
him a corrupt and servile house of commons — I will give him 
the full sway of the patronage of office — I will give him the 
whole host of ministerial influence — -I will give him all the 
power that place can confer upon him to purchase up submis- 
sion and overawe resistance — and yet, armed with the liberty 
of the Press, I will go forth to meet him undismayed ; I will 
attack the mighty fabric he has reared with that mightier 
engine ; I will shake down from its height corruption, and 
bury it amidst the ruins of the abuses it was meant to shelter." 

Our own illustrious Thomas Jefferson, twice President of the 
United States, said : " I would rather live in a country with 
newspapers and without a government than in a country with 
a government but without newspapers." 

The first and great Napoleon said: "A journalist ! That 
means a grumbler, a censurer, a giver of advice, a regent of 



1 88 Biographies and yoiirnalisin. 

sovereigns, a tutor of nations I Four hostile newspapers are 
more to be dreaded than a hundred thousand bayonets." 

Right Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe, Bishop of the Episcopal 
Church for Western New York, thus speaks in eloquent terms 
of the mighty power of the Press : 

" After all, the Press is king. 

" It is the Press that creates public opinion. 

" It is the grand fact of the hour that popular sentiment has 
been educated by the Press up to the point of spurning party 
trammels and voting on principle. 

"Who, then, shall keep our custodians? If journalism is 
so powerful, who will save us from such journalism as made 
the Commune possible in Paris?" 

One of the most memorable tributes to newspapers ever 
pronounced was by Bulwer, a prince of romancers, who thus 
spoke of them with reference to their assistance to legislation : 
" It is the newspaper which gives to liberty its practical life, 
its constant observation; its perpetual vigilance, its unrelaxing 
activity. It is the daily and sleepless watchman that reports 
to you every danger which menaces the institutions of your 
country and its interests at home and abroad. It informs 
legislation of public opinion, and it informs the people of the 
acts of legislation, thus keeping up that constant sympathy, 
that good understanding between people and legislators, which 
induces to the maintenance of order, and prevents the stern 
necessity for revolution." 

In a republic like ours, where the newspaper is so imperial 
an element, a complete history of its size and progress should 
not be omitted in the catalogue of the history of the nation. 
In this view, journalists will bear in mind that anecdotes are 
incidents of newspaper offices ; newspaper men and newspaper 
enterprise are like the etchings and illustrations of Darley, and 
Leach, and Nast, and M'Lenan to other historical and social 
sketches. They should be rescued from oblivion and private 
note-books. They are the lights and shades, the wit and 



you^'-fialism. 189 

philosophy of the editorial sanctums, the printing offices and 
press-rooms of the land. 

Newspapers are read daily by millions at their breakfast 
tables, in the counting-room, and thrown aside as soon as read, 
without apparent thought of the medium through which the 
events of the world, the affairs of the day, the gossip of the 
hour, are conveyed to their minds, forming their opinions, 
leading them to fame and fortune, saving them from disaster, 
and governing their actions. Those who use the telegraph 
condemn the unsightly poles that stand like sentinels along 
our sidewalks. Those most influenced by the Press heap upon 
it the most abuse in public. Yet, no public dinner is given in 
honor of a military hero, or of an inventor, or of a statesman, 
or of a novelist, that the Press is not a regular toast. This is 
a stereotyped acknowledgment of the power and influence of 
the newspaper. On such occasions are not the accomplished 
stenographers the most important listeners to the efforts of the 
orators, in their estimation ? Are they not the ears of the 
great public? I claim that to the Press, the art preservative 
of all arts, the world is mainly indebted to-day for whatever 
of constitutional liberty it enjoys. I love to hear the rumbling 
of the steam-power press better than the roar of artillery. It 
is silently attacking and vanquishing the Malakoffs of vice and 
Sedans of evil, and its parallels and approaches cannot be 
resisted. I love to hear the click of the type in the composing 
stick better than the click of the hammer of the musket in the 
hands of the soldier. It bears a leaden messenger of deadlier 
power, of sublimer force and of surer aim, which will surely 
hit its mark though a thousand miles away. 

It is a highly-prized privilege, gentlemen of the society, in 
this, the inaugural month of the centennial year of our grand 
republic, in this, the initiatory of a year of imposing national 
commemorations, to address the representative men of culture, 
of thought and character of a city wherein I have spent upwards 
of thirty years of my life, and upon " Journalism," a profession 



IQO Biographies and ycnirnalism. 

whicli has engrossed my energies and occupied my almost 
entire time for more than a generation of human existence ! 
Yes, dating back to the year 1838, when I commenced my 
apprenticeship to the printing business in the neighboring 
Village of Batavia, Genesee County, thirty-eight years have 
elapsed since I first became connected with newspapers ! It 
was in the office of the Batavia Spirit of the Times, then 
published by Col. Frederick Follett, subsequently twice elected 
canal commissioner by the democrats. I received, the first 
year of my apprenticeship, the munificent sum of thirty dollars 
per year and my board (which, by the way, was very good, for 
I was quartered in the family of Mr. Follett and they fared 
well every day). The second year I received forty dollars ; the 
third year seventy-five dollars, and the fourth one hundred 
dollars. I was also the village carrier of the paper. But, after 
all, these days of my boyhood were the happiest of m}' exist- 
ence — that period 

" When life itself was new, 
And the heart pictured what the fancy drew." 

I was as contented as Goldsmith's parson, who was " passing 
rich on forty pounds a }'ear." 

The reason why I embarked in the printing business at the 
early age of fourteen years, was that my father, in consequence 
of the financial crises of 1835 and 1837, was unable to defray 
the expenses consequent upon ni}' longer continuance at 
academies, where I had been, at Le Roy and Bethany, Gene- 
see County. I derived great benefit from my academic studies, 
and they inspired in me a great desire to read, to which I 
attribute m}' subsequently embarking in literary pursuits. 

Before taking leave of this portion of m}' newspaper life, I 
cannot refrain from mentioning two, to me, memorable inci- 
dents, both of which, I doubt not, will prove interesting to 
those who hear me, as they possess historic interest. In the 
presidential cam})aign of 1840, when Martin Van Buren was 



yoitnialisni. 191 

fairly sung out of office by the liberal repetition of the famous 
campaign songs of the day, such as 

" Oh ! have you heard the news from Maine, Maine, 
All honest and true ! 
It is the ball a rolling on, 

For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too. 
And with them we will beat Little Van, Van, 
Van is a used-up man," 

I was invited by the managers of the Old Line Democracy 
to attend a mass-meeting of the faithful at Middlebur}% Gene- 
esee County (since Wyoming County). It was held in a beau- 
tiful grove near the village, and was presided over by our late 
venerable and honored townsman, Judge John B. Skinner, 
then one of the first men of Western New York. The judge 
was a perfect master of persuasive and thrilling eloquence, 
and it devolved upon him to introduce the orator of the day, 
who was the illustrious Silas Wright, justly styled the " Cato 
of America." And never shall I forget the grand and imposing 
form of New York's favorite son, as Mr. Wright was familiarly 
called. Never shall I forget his inevitable suit of blue broad- 
cloth, with glittering brass buttons and ruffled shirt. Never 
shall I forget the wonderful chain of argument, the clear, 
logical train of reasoning, the calm, musical eloquence which 
he used in explaining the operations of the sub or independent 
treasury system, the pet measure of the statesman Van Buren, 
Mr. Wright never condescended to use the arts or gewgaws of 
oratorical display or demagogical appearances. He was ever 
solid, plain and massive, true to the constitution and to his 
country. 

Among others present from Batavia on this occasion were 
Heman J. Redfield, one of the famous seventeen state senators 
who voted against the people electing presidential electors, 
David E. Evans and General Isaac A. Verplanck. 

The other incident, to which I make allusion in a preceding 
page, was the trial, conviction and sentence to state prison of 



192 Biographies and youi'iialism. 

one of the most enterprising, widely-known and, in many 
respects, notable citizens of Buffalo in the olden time, viz., 
Iknjamin Rathbun. Nathan Dayton, then vice-chancellor 
and presiding judge of the circuit, presided. The old court- 
house in the village rung during that historic trial with the 
unsurpassed eloquence of Henry K. Smith, of Buffalo. I have 
heard most of the grandest efforts of our deceased townsman, 
but I never heard his summing up in the case of Benjamin 
Rathbun surpassed. It was full of splendid, magnetic bursts 
of oratory — the impassioned, terrifically earnest pleadings fo'r 
mercy and justice in behalf of the prisoner, whom he honestly 
believed to be an injured, if not a totally innocent, man. It 
produced an ineffaceable impression upon all who heard it; 
and, if it did not save Rathbun from a felon's cell, it stamped 
his advocate as one of the foremost of American criminal 
lawyers. Judge Skinner was engaged in the trial for the 
prosecution and, as he always did, displayed great ability. 
The people of Batavia warmly sympathized with Mr. Rathbun 
throughout the trial, and there was hardly a drv c}'e in the 
court-room when the sentence of the law was pronounced upon 
him, consigning him to Auburn state prison. 

But I must hasten on. I finally graduated at the Times 
office with all the honors incident to a printer's devil, and early 
in January, 1842, left Batavia for Buffalo. Just as I was 
getting upon the cars, Mr, Jerome A. Clark, then a responsible 
citizen and jeweler of Batavia, handed me a money package, 
which he asked me to deposit, after my arrival in the cit)', at 
the office of Messrs. Wells and Fargo's express, which proved 
to be at the bookstore of W. B. Peck, on Main street, near the 
office of the Buffalo CouDticrcial Advertiser. I mention this 
incident for two reasons. Firstly, because the package referred 
to was intrusted to me by Mr. Clark, in his official capacity of 
unsalaried agent for Messrs. Wells & Fargo's " carpet bag " 
express, and contained $3,000; and because, to my then }'outh- 
ful and sensitive mind and imagination, the occurrence was 



JoiLrnalisni. ig^ 

one of great moment. It seemed that I was the custodian of 
ahnost the wealth of " Ormus and of Ind." 

Upon my arrival in the city, or rather at the railway 
statiori down at the Hydraulics, I inquired for the hotel 
where I had been directed to stop, and which proved to 
be a little wooden building, situated on the corner of Main 
and Exchange streets, and then and now known as the 
Mansion House. I remember to this day the impression 
produced upon me during the evening I spent at the 
Mansion b}' the rare conversational powers of three gentle- 
men in particular — gentlemen doubtless well remembered 
b)' man}' of my auditors. There was the tall, commanding 
and imposing form of General George P. Barker, whose 
magnetic eloquence, brilliant wit and sparkling humor, ele- 
gant manners and faultless apparel, not forgetting the ruffled 
shirt, will long linger in the memories of all who knew him ; 
there was " mine host " Philip Dorsheimer, a representative 
German-American citizen, whose dignified, yet unostentatious 
manner, unflinching integrity and genial and generous social 
characteristics commanded alike universal esteem and influence ; 
there, too, was Joseph Stringham, who in due time I shall men- 
tion in his proper connection with the Buffalo Press, a man 
of dignified and scholarly demeanor and noble characteristics. 
All of these personages were what I may term " gentlemen 
of the old school." And what do I mean by that term ? Evi- 
dently a man who is careful of his person and whose urbanity 
and uniform politeness are unmixed with the slang license and 
so-called independence, generally another name for forwardness, 
that characterize the manners of our time. We seem to have 
lost the art of being modest, without appearing to be timid, 
of being confident in ourselves without being forward, of 
showing deference to others without infringing upon our own 
dignity, possessed by our gentlemen of the old school. 

The next morning, bright and early, I woke up and anxiously 
looked under my pillow for the money which had cost me so 



194 Biographies and Journalism. 

much solicitude. My slumber had been disturbed by visions 
of robbers and highwaymen, and I was rejoiced when I found 
it safely deposited where I had left it. In due time I delivered 
it to Mr. Peck, who thanked me for my courtesy and invited me 
to call again. Before dismissing this incident, I cannot refrain 
from mentioning the wonderful contrast between the humble 
and unpretending condition of the pioneer express company 
of 1842, with the present world-renowned, prosperous American 
Express Company, whose headquarters is still at Buffalo, with 
branch offices extending not only throughout the continent, 
but stretching even across the Atlantic to the old world. 

In a few days, through the kind offices of William A. Sutton, 
who will be remembered as superintendent of repairs on the 
Erie Canal during Governor Bouck's administration, I obtained 
a situation as compositor upon the Buffalo daily Gazette, then 
published on Seneca street, near Main, by Bradford A. 
Manchester and Hezekiah A.Salisbury. Among my associates, 
employed as typesetters on the Gazette, were Cyrenius C. 
Torrance, late democratic state senatorial candidate, George 
V. N. Brown, subsequently consul to Tangiers, and Thomas D. 
Johns, who afterwards graduated at the military academy at 
West Point. And here I wish to bear tribute to the very 
superior business ability, remarkable literary attainments and 
noble qualities and characteristics of Bradford A. Manchester. 
His career as a publisher was highly honorable to him and may 
be briefly summed up as follows : On the first of January, 
1835, the daily Comniereial Advertiser was issued. Dr. Thomas 
M. Foote and Mr. Manchester being associated in the man- 
agement of the Patriot and the Advertiser. In 1838 the 
Aurora Standard was merged in these papers, and A. M. 
Clapp, its publisher, became one of the proprietors of the 
joint concern. In 1840, he associated himself with E. R. 
Jewett and Thomas M. Foote in the publication of the Buffalo 
Patriot (then the weekly of the Comniereial^, and continued in 
that relation for about two years, when he withdrew and 



yoii rnalism. 1 9 5 

commenced with others the daily Buffalo Gazette, which in 
1845 ^v^s changed to the National Pilot, and in July, 1846, it 
was united with the Buffalo Courier, and the Courier and Pilot 
was published by Stringham, Manchester & Brayman, until the 
paper was sold to Robert D. Foy & Co., in February, 1848, 
when Mr. Manchester retired from his active connection with 
the publication of newspapers. It is not my intention to review 
or elaborate upon Mr. Manchester's subsequent and prominent 
career as a banker and public-spirited citizen. I can only 
briefly sum up his to my mind distinguishing traits of character. 
He was a chivalrous, cultivated, ambitious and unflinchingly 
upright man. He possessed superior intellectual powers. He 
scorned a mean act and aimed to make society and business 
circles the better for his contact with them. He gloried in 
advancing the interests of Buffalo, and his kind heart and 
winning social qualities won for him hosts of friends among all 
classes of our citizens. His powers of observation were remark- 
ably active ; nothing escaped his attention. Nor did he see 
with his eyes merely. He was one whose mind quickly 
appropriated what was of worth in the things he saw or 
studied ; one for whom, emphatically, there were sermons in 
stones, 

" Books in the running brooks, 
And good in everything." 

In taking leave of the Gazette office, I would say that Mr. 
Hezekiah A. Salisbury, the senior partner of Mr. Manchester, 
was a most industrious, honorable gentleman, and enjoyed the 
universal respect and esteem of all who knew him for his 
Christian virtues and manly traits of character. Mr. James O. 
Brayman was one of the editors of the paper while I was 
employed in the office. 

In 1843, finding that the severe labors incident to a morning 
paper were wearing upon me, I applied to Messrs. E. R. Jewett 
and Dr. Thomas M. Foote for employment upon their Buffalo 



196 Biographies and yournalism. 

Cojunwrcial Advertiser, t\\Q.n as now an evening paper. I was 
successful in my application and, entering the office, 1 found 
myself duly apportioned to a case by Mr. Rufus Wheeler, then 
foreman of the composing-room. The Coniviercial was edited 
then with distinguished ability by Dr. Thomas M. Foote, one 
of the most brilliant, accomplished and versatile writers who 
have ever adorned journalism in our country. For purity and 
affluence of diction, fertility of resources, richness and fullness 
of expression, untiring industry and scholarly, intuitive, natural, 
graceful powers of description, Dr. Foote had few equals and 
no superiors. While he often evidenced great power as a 
political writer ; while he unquestionably was thoroughly 
conversant with the politics and general history of the nation 
and of the world, he did not seemingly aim to obtain power by 
entering the political arena. He will be principally remembered, 
in my judgment, for his splendid essays, if I may so characterize 
his articles, for his finished and thoughtful pen productions, 
outside of politics, that fairly exhausted the subjects upon 
which they treated. Dr. Foote conferred high dignity upon 
journalism at home, and represented his native land with 
conspicuous credit abroad as consul to Bogota and minister to 
Austria during the administration of our illustrious townsman 
President Millard Fillmore. His spotless personal character 
was in keeping with his grand career as an editor. In a 
number of contests with those giants of the pen, Thurlow 
Weed of the Albany Evening jfonrnal and Edwin Croswell of 
the Albany Argus, he displayed intellectual qualities that 
proved him to be a " foeman worthy of their steel." Indeed, 
in the opinion of many, he came out of the encounters with 
them victor. Finally, his literary tastes were classical ; his 
mind was enriched by vast reading and ennobled by pure and 
lofty thoughts, and he could draw at sight from almost inex- 
haustible resources and reserves. 

Mr. Elam R. Jewett, Dr. Foote's partner, is still living in our 
cit)% and his hospitable mansion and elaborately beautified 



I 



you rna lism. 1 9 7 

grounds, out on Main street, are highly prized, not only by their 
genial owner, but by all who have had the good fortune to 
enjoy their rural charms. As a publisher, Mr. Jewett was 
eminently successful. He possesses decided executive ability 
and rare business talent. May he live long to enjoy his hard- 
earned competence. 

Mr. Wilson, the commercial editor of the paper during my 
connection with the office, possessed rare power as a statistician, 
and was noted for his painstaking devotion to the facts and 
figures connected with trade and commerce. 

Of the Buffalo Courier^ the recognized organ of the demo- 
cratic party, and one of the very oldest, ablest and most 
successful newspapers in the state, much might be said if my 
limits permitted. Its first number was issued some forty-five 
years ago. It subsequently absorbed the Buffalo daily Gazette 
and the National Pilots which consolidated paper was pub- 
lished in 1846 by Messrs. Stringham, Manchester & Brayman. 
In February, 1848, it was sold to Robert D. Foy & Co. I 
knew Mr. Foy well, as I did Mr. William A. Seaver, who was 
its sole proprietor when I established my daily Queen City in 
1850. In 1854, the Courier passed into the hands of Joseph 
Warren, Esq., who has been its chief editor and principal 
publisher ever since. To very high executive ability, Mr. 
Warren unites many rare gifts as a writer. His style is not 
only elegant and finished, but he wields a powerful pen which 
has become widely felt in many a by-gone political and other 
contests with his cotemporaries. He has also won an influential 
and prominent position among the active, controlling men of 
the democratic party. 

Gladly would I speak in detail of the many brilliant, pains- 
taking and able assistants, and local editors who have, from 
time to time, comprised the " staff " of the Courier. I can, 
however, mention but a portion of them : Samuel M. 
Chamberlin, now deceased, for his powerful, exhaustive and 
elegant pen productions. All recognize in Robert Hadfield, 



198 Biographies and yo7irnalis7n. 

now in New York city, a remarkably able, thoughtful and 
finished writer. All appreciate his solid and versatile attain- 
ments, and the admirable use he makes of them. Then there 
is David Gray, whose scholarly, brilliant and felicitous poetic 
and prose articles have already won for him a high and 
enviable position as an editor. His lectures and public efforts 
have also added to his conceded high journalistic position. 
Thomas Kean, the widely-known and exceptionally able city 
editor of the Courier, has gaineci a very high name by his 
" Criticisms and Reviews," and has displayed an industry and 
talent generally on the paper that stamp him as very success- 
ful and superior in the discharge of his responsible duties. 
Mr. William Thurstone, the commercial editor of the Courier 
and Secretary of the Board of Trade, has made his department 
of the paper of great value to the commercial and business 
interests. 

Of the present " administration " of the Buffalo Commercial 
Advertiser, I will here say a few words. The publishers are 
James D. Warren and another. Mr. Warren has added to the 
enviable name of the Commercial, and it now ranks with the 
leading daily papers, not only of the state but of the nation. 
Editor-in-chief Foster is also a powerful and finished writer, 
and a gentleman of very fine literary taste. 

Of Mr. James Albro, city editor, I shall speak more 
particularly hereafter. He is a decided success in this position. 
Mr. William J. Morgan ably acquits himself as commercial 
editor of the paper. The Commercial is, forty-five years old. 

In the presidential campaign of 1844, or rather with the 
early spring of that memorable year, I took my leave of the 
proprietors, of the Commercial, and, fortified with a strong 
letter from them indorsing my industry and reliabilit}', I left 
Buffalo for Messrs. Harper & Brothers' celebrated printing 
establishment on Cliff street, New York. I obtained my 
situation at Harper's through the agency of the venerable 
Lyman Cobb, whose school-books gave him a national reputa- 



yournalism. 1 99 

tion. I remained in the employ of the Messrs. Harper just 
three and a half hours by the clock, the foreman not fancying 
me from the first, as I was indebted to my position under him 
to the proprietors, he making it a rule to place every obstacle 
possible in the way of those who were not placed in his room 
on his own recommendation. So, thanking the notable book 
publishers for their well-meant kindness, and feeling that 
exciting newspaper life, and not the stereotyped and common- 
place routine of a book composing-room was my favorite 
vocation, I, the same afternoon, sought for and obtained 
employment on the old and unique New York daily Anwruaii 
published on William street. I remained on the American 
some six months when I got a position upon Moses Y. Beach's 
New York daily Sun, which was said to " shine for all," and 
which was in the full tide of successful experiment as a penny 
paper. 

It was on the Sun that I first commenced writing local or 
city items, and formed my determination to start, at some 
time, a penny paper on my own account. The first number of 
the Sun was issued in 1833, by Benjamin H. Day. One cent 
continued to be its price for thirty years, or till the recent 
rebellion, when everything advanced to so high a price, 
the Sun was doubled in price, and it will probably never 
again be a penny paper. During my connection with the 
Sun, it was owned and published by Moses Yale Beach, 
who, with his son, so successfully managed it from 1837 
to i860, that they finally sold it that year for $100,000 in 
gold. At the time I was on the Sun it was published 
immediately opposite Bennett's Herald, on the corner of 
Fulton and Nassau streets, and it was then the highest 
ambition of the Sun to beat the Herald in the acquisition 
of intelligence. The rivalry^ between the two establishments 
was great, and sometimes amusing and expensive. I will 
relate one instance which occurred and which I can vouch for. 

On one occasion two expresses were arranged to bring the 



200 Biographies and yournalism. 

European news from Boston to New York — one to run over 
the Norwich and Worcester road for the Su)i, and the other to 
run over the Providence and Stonington road for the Herald. 
The Cunard steamer made a longer passage than usual, and 
was not telegraphed at Boston till early Saturday morning. 
The Herald was not then published on Sunday, and the Sun 
never issued a regular edition on that day. If the expresses 
were run, they would reach New York about midnight on 
Saturday. What was to be done ? The agent of the Herald 
determined not to run his express, but he was anxious for the 
Sun to enjoy the luxury. So he made his arrangements, with 
locomotive fired up, to start the moment the news reached his 
hands. The wide-awake agent of the Sun was not to be 
beaten. He was watchful. The moment the Cunarder touched 
the wharf at East Boston, he started with the news to the 
Worcester depot. John Gilpin's time was beaten through the 
streets of Boston as easily as Bonner's team now beats all 
others on Harlem Lane. On the panting and puffing locomo- 
tive jumped the indefatigable agent of the Sun, and, with one 
shrill whistle, he was off for New York, The agent of the 
Herald, as soon as his plucky companion was out of sight, and 
soing- off at the rate of a mile a minute, had his locomotive run 
into the house and cooled off. He then went down to the 
office of the Mail, published on State street by Purdy & 
Bradley, and quietly got out the news and had it printed on 
extra sheets, with the New York Herald head. He took 
several thousand by one train that afternoon, and sent as many 
by a messenger by the other regular line. They reached New 
York about six o'clock the next morning, and the extras were 
immediately sold to the newsboys. Meanwhile the Sun 
express had made splendid time from city to city, and there 
was great commotion in the Sun office. All was bright and 
watchful, but quiet in the Herald establishment. There was 
no news there. " The Herald is beaten," gleefully exclaimed 
the happy fellows in the Suu building. But to their bewilder- 



yournalism. 201 

nient, about six o'clock, tliey heard tlie cry, " 'Erc's tlic extra 
' Era/d, imi)ortant news from Europe !" under their very 
windows. It was too kite; the Sun was eclipsed that niorninj^. 

I left New York in the winter of 1S46 for Albany, where I 
remained in the Albany daily Argus office durini^ the sessioti 
of the Constitutional Convention during that year. I knew 
Edwin and Sherman Croswell w^ell, and often wrote political 
articles for the paper. On December 22, 1846, I commenced, 
in company with several enterprising craftsmen, the publication 
of a penny paper in Albany, called the daily Evc/tiuo- Tdc- 
grapJi, bound copies of which I have brought with me this 
evening. But it was not a lucrative investment, and I sold 
out my interest on the twentieth of February, 1847. I'cturned 
to Buffalo, and obtained a situation upon the Buffalo Aforning- 
Express, a daily paper, which had been established during my 
brief residence in Albany. 

The first number of the Express was issued on the fifteenth 
of January, 1846, under the proprietorship of Almon M. Clapp 
and Rufus Wheeler, as the firm of A. M. Clapp & Co. I can 
truthfully pronounce Major Clapp, now congressional printer 
at Washington, a veteran, accomplished and powerful writer. 
He was publisher of the Aurora Standard, as long ago as 1836, 
and, in 1838, the Standard was merged into the Daily 
Couuiiercial Advertiser, the weekly of the Coniuiereial, the 
major becoming one of the proprietors of the joint concern. 
The limits of this paper will not admit of my elaborating upon 
even the public, much less the full newspaporial, career of my 
older and gifted cotemporaries. But I cannot take leave of 
Major Clapp without characterizing him as an eloquent and 
forcible speaker, and a journalist of uncommon vigor and 
industry. He was an enthusiastic, earnest and prominent whig 
in the days of that grand old constitutional party that was 
honored with the leadership of Clay, Webster and Fillmore. 
As a republican, he has performed }'eoman service. He is a 
gentleman of strong, sincere convictions, and, in a political 
14 



202 Biographies and your?ialism. 

contest, was never afraid to fire hot shot at his adversaries. He 
has devoted the great bulk of a long life-time to journalism, 
and, under his editorial management, the Express was a 
conceded power in its party. Socially, the major is generous 
and open-handed, and has the faculty of making and retaining 
warm friends. 

His first partner in the Express was Rufus Wheeler, whom I 
knew intimately. Possessing a chivalrous disposition, honor- 
able ambition and uncommon business ability, he was of great 
service in the early days of the paper, in building up and 
cementing its fortunes. I never knew a man enter upon the 
prosecution of a business enterprise \\\\\\ more devotedness 
and untiring, painstaking industry than were displayed by my 
friend Wheeler in his efforts to push on his pioneer paper. He 
labored so assiduously that I have no doubt he shortened his 
life by his own exertions. Time will not admit of my going 
into detail with his journalistic career. Suffice it to sa}% that 
he made his mark on the Express, displaying executive ability 
and persistent devotion to his business. Shortly after leaving 
the Express, in company with Messrs. J. D. Warren, Joseph 
Candee and another, Mr. Wheeler purchased the Buffalo Coni- 
Diereial Advertiser, maintaining and increasing its good name 
and position. He was, also, for one year. President of the 
State Associated Press. His sudden demise deprived Buffalo 
of a prominent, generous, noble-hearted citizen, whose life 
had been devoted to promoting its welfare and developing its 
interests. He now sleeps in our charming Forest Lawn, 
revered by us all as the home of our beloved ones who have 
gone before us. 

I have before, in this paper, made frequent mention of the 
Express. It has for several years been published by a stock 
company. At the present time Mr. Bishop is chief manager 
and editor. Mr. George H, Selkirk has special charge of the 
counting-room details, and is an able, agreeable gentleman to 
transact business with. Mr. Earl D. Berry is city editor and 



yournalisni. 203 

one of the most talented and promising of the young gentle- 
men connected with our city dailies. The Express is in its 
thirty-first year. 

I now come to my connection with the Ikiffiilo daily Republic, 
which commenced with the month of June, 1847. The first 
number of the paper was printed in 1847, ^"cl its first publisher 
was Quartus Graves. Its office was in the third story of the 
brick building on the corner of Main and Exchange streets, 
opposite the Mansion. I obtained the position of local and 
commercial editor of the paper, through the cordial introduc- 
tion and indorsement of Gen. George P. Barker and Eli Cook. 
Stephen Albro, Esq., father of Justice W. H. Albro and 
Mr. James Albro, the able and untiring city editor of the 
Conimercial Advertiser, was then the editor-in-chief of the 
Republic. He will be remembered as a veteran editor, having 
been prominently connected with the press of our city as long 
ago as 1837 and 1838, when he edited the Republican. Mr. 
Albro was, in many respects, a remarkable man. He possessed 
uncommonly vigorous powers, and a rare fund of general 
information, and his pen productions were distinguished for 
their thorough and sterling independence, and plain, straight- 
forward common sense. As a political writer he ranked very 
high. His writings produced marked effect upon the public 
mind. In connection with our townsman, now ex-Mayor 
Rogers, Mr. Albro edited and published the Sunday Bulletin. 
It was a highly-respectable and ably-conducted paper, and 
exercised a healthy influence on the community. 

Mr. Rogers was foreman of the Republic composing-room 
during my connection with the paper, and among the composi- 
tors' staff was Mr. James Albro. Our host of this evening, 
the Hon. Elbridge G. Spaulding, was mayor of the city in 
1847, ^ri<^ discharged the duties of the office with the signal 
ability, unostentatious dignity and urbanity that have charac- 
terized him throughout his long and eminent public and busi- 
ness career. I gratefully remember the many facilities and 



204 Biographies and Joiirnalism. 

kindnesses which he extended to me during my first year of 
city editorial duty. 

In 1848, the Republic passed from the hands of Mr. Graves, 
and E. A. Maynard, Esq., a gxMitleman now deceased and then 
Avidely known and respected by our communit)% became the 
proprietor. Mr. Maynard had had previous preliminar}' ex- 
perience in newspaper publishing in Utica. He embarked in 
the publication of the Republic in accordance with the earnest 
entreaties of the leading members of the free soil portion of 
the democratic party of Erie County. Among others wEo 
particularly desired him to purchase the paper were Philip 
Dorsheimer, Isaac Sherman, Dyre Tillinghast, Oliver Patch, 
of Wales, and our lately returned townsman, John Hubbell. 

In 1848, Mr. Benjamin Welch, Jr., became associated with 
Mr. Maynard as proprietor and editor of the paper. Mr. 
Welch will be pleasantly recollected by many here present as 
a vigorous, graceful writer of the free soil or barn-burning 
school of politics. He was emphatic in expressing his abhor- 
rence of slavery, and was thoroughly convinced that the 
aggressive and defiant attitude even then exhibited by the 
southern pro-slavery leaders should be checked and resisted. 
He enjoyed the confidence and respect of the chiefs of the 
old democracy, Silas Wright, John A. Dix, Preston King and 
Martin Van Buren. He was on especially intimate terms with 
John Van Buren (or Prince John, as he was familiarly called), 
the brilliant and eccentric son of the statesman of Kinderhook. 
Mr. Welch subsequently became state treasurer, and ably 
discharged the duties of the station. His early death was 
acutely regretted by all who knew him. 

In 1857, the Republic passed into the hands of Cyrenius C. 
Bristol, who was and is still celebrated for his originalit}' and 
versatile talents. At one time he was one of the most promi- 
nent and successful business men of the city, and was known to 
the nation as the proprietor of a sarsaparilla that was claimed 
to be a cure for the thousand natural ills that flesh is heir to. 



yournalism. 205 

Dr. Bristol was full to overflowing of wit and humor. In fact, 
I never knew a man with a keener relish for merriment or 
more capable of constantly portraying the ludicrous side 
of a question. He was always noted for his generosity and 
his genial, manly traits of character. During his administra- 
tion as proprietor of the Republic it commanded some of the 
very ablest and most accomplished writers ever connected 
with our city press. Prominent among them I will mention 
Guy H. Salisbury, who was a host in himself; a poet of rich, 
rare and exuberant fancy; a gentleman of thoroughly scholarly 
and literary tastes ; learned in history, biography and general 
science, he dashed off finished articles for the press, and his 
pen contributions enriched the columns of nearly all the papers 
of our city. He will also be long remembered as one of the 
most conspicuous of the early and prominent publishers of 
Buffalo. 

One of the prominent editors connected not only with the 
Republic, but subsequently one of the proprietors and chief 
editors of the Expi'css, was Josephus N. Larned. Commencing 
his editorial connection with the Republic in 1857, I need not 
say that he soon won a most enviable reputation. Mr. Larned 
is a brilliant, scholarly writer, a gentleman of much culture and 
thought, and has demonstrated his varied ability not only on 
the press, but as superintendent of our noble free schools. 

Of Dr. Sanford B. Hunt, one of the very ablest editors ever 
identified with Buffalo newspapers, I can pleasurably say that 
he was a powerful, high-toned, scholarly writer and he conferred 
dignity and character upon his profession. He wrote at various 
times for the Commercial and Express. 

Henry W. Faxon was remarkable for his humor and wit. 
Whether he wrote the famous lines entitled, " The Beautiful 
Snow," or not, I shall not undertake to determine, but this I 
will say, that their authorship was not needed by him to 
establish his reputation for infinite jest and exquisite fancy. 



2o6 Biographies and youi'nalisnt. 

He possessed that uncommon gift that was " wont to set the 
whole table in a roar." 

David Wentworth was a pungent, fluent, polished writer and 
though he died, like Faxon, quite young, won many encomiums 
for his editorial power. 

Three of the five I have just mentioned as connected with 
the Republic during Dr. Bristol's proprietorship have passed 
away. In parting u^ith them Mrs. Norton's lines occur to me : 

" Weep not for him who dieth — 
F'or he sleeps and is at rest ; 
And the couch whereon he lieth 
Is the green eartlr's quiet breast." 

The year 1850 will ever be green in my memory. It was the 
year of the establishment of my present newspaper ; the year 
of the realization of the dream of my boyhood that I would 
sometime in my life be the owner of a daily paper. On the 
twenty-eighth of January, 1850, I issued the first number of a 
penny daily journal entitled the Daily Queen City. My publi- 
cation office was No. 206 Main street, second story, or, in other 
words, it was directly over the then popular bookstore of our 
veteran and universally esteemed townsman Oliver G. Steele. 
My friend, the ex-president of this society, will pardon me when 
I here acknowledge the many courtesies and kindnesses he 
extended to me in getting up the initial number of the paper, 
and through the many succeeding years. May he live long 
and prosper. 

After about six weeks' time I removed the publication office 
of the Queen City to Seneca street and subsequently to Wash- 
ington street, near where the Post is now published, and on 
which street it has been published for over twenty years. In 
1852, during the presidential campaign, the title of the paper 
was changed to Buffalo Evening Post, and Mr. Calvin J. Mills 
was associated with me in the publication and editorship. I 
also published, in connection with two other gentlemen, a weekly 
paper styled the Vounj; Hickory during the campaign of 1852, 



yournalism. 207 

and it stoutly adv^ocated the claims of Pierce and King for the 
presidency. In the year 1853 I again became sole proprietor 
of the Post, and have continued so ever since. Among the 
notable years, in my journalistic history, was 1863, in which 
occurred my marriage, my being drafted into the military 
service of the United States, and my second candidacy for 
the assembly, which, fortunate!}' for me, resulted in the election 
of my opponent. 

I come now to speak of the German press of the city; of the 
organs of that nationality in our midst that numbers over 
60,000 souls ; of a nationality no less renowned in the arts of 
peace than of war; a people noted for their patient, sterling 
industry, their integrity and their intelligent, patriotic attach- 
ment to our free institutions; one of whose representative men, 
Hon. Philip Becker, is now the honored chief magistrate of our 
city and whose enterprise is conspicuously illustrated in the 
imposing edifice now erecting for the German Insurance 
Company, and in many other portions of our city. (It is a 
coincidence worthy of note, that Mr. Becker, after a lapse of 
ten years, is again the occupant of the mayor's chair, and in 
good health and spirits.) 

On December 2, 1837, "^^^ fi'^st number of a weekly democratic 
paper was issued by Colonel George Zahm, under the title of 
Der Wcltbnrger. Colonel Zahm was unfortunately killed by 
the falling upon him of a hickory pole, on the twenty-eighth of 
September, 1844, at a democratic pole raising. The publication 
of the paper was continued by his widow until November 29, 
1845. O'l March 19, 1845, it was issued semi-weekly. From 
November 29, 1845, Messrs. Brunck & Domedion assumed the 
proprietorship. On the nineteenth of April, 1853, it was 
consolidated with the Democrat, which was established in 1848 
by Charles Essingler, as a weekly, and in 185 1 changed hands 
to Charles De Hass and Fred. Held, and published daily. 
After the consolidation of the paper the firm name was changed 
to Brunck, Held & Co. In April, 1855, Mr. Domedion retired 



2o8 Biographies and yotirnalism. 

and Mr. De Haas in 1859. Until June, 1875, this partnership 
continued, and on the retirement of the eloquent and veteran 
Dr. Brunck from the paper my respected and able contemporary 
Mr. Frederick Held became its sole proprietor. 

In 1843, "^ weekly German paper, called Der FrciiiinctJiigc, 
was established by Alexander L. Krause in the interest of the 
whig party; it was published only a year and a half. In 
1857 another German daily, called the Patriot, \\?i.s issued. It 
survived but a few months and was published by Messrs. 
Voght and Young. In the latter part of November, 1845^ 
the Buffalo Telegraph was established by Henry B. Miller; 
the paper passed into the hands of Philip H. Bender in 1857, 
and he continued its proprietor until its publication ceased 
in 1874. 

With reference to the Buffalo daily Freie Presse, I have to 
say that in 1853 Mr. Fred. Reinecke issued a weekly German 
paper. In 1857 it was transferred into the Freie Presse, but 
after eleven weeks existence it became again a weekly, under 
a different firm name. This p-iper was continued as a weekly 
or daily until June 8, 1872, after which the present daily Freie 
Presse made its appearance on June 8, 1875. Mr. George 
Baltz retiring, Messrs. Reinecke and Zesch continued the 
publication. 

The Buffalo Volksfreiind, daily and weekly, was established 
and is to-day possessed by the Buffalo German Press Associa- 
tion, a stock company consisting of prominent German citizens. 
Its first issue appeared August i, 1868. A week afterwards a 
weekly was commenced. The Volksfreund is ably edited and 
well managed. 

Last, but not least, is the new German republican daily 
established b}' Ismaar S. Ellison, on the fifteenth of October, 
under the name of the Republican. Mr. Ellison is a talented, 
fearless writer, and had several years previous editorial 
experience upon the Freie Presse. 

The weekly Aurora, German Catholic newspaper, is pub- 



yo2i7'naIisin. 209 

lished at No. 131 Batavia street, by Mr. C. Weikmann. It was 
founded by its present publisher at Detroit, Mich., and was 
first issued September 27, 1831. On October 4, 1853, the 
publisher brought his paper to Buffalo, where he has issued 
it weekly, uninterruptedly since. 

I hav^e merely mentioned the German press. I have not, I 
am fully aware, elaborated upon their merits as they deserve. 
But, before dismissing them, I feel that I can safely claim for 
them that they are quite up to the best German papers in the 
other leading cities of the Union, for editorial ability and 
honorable business management. Of the weekly religious 
press, prominent among which are the Buffalo Christian 
Advocate, the Catholic Union and Aurora, I can only speak 
in brief terms. The Advocate was first issued on the third of 
January, 1850, at No. 138 Main street. The lamented Rev. 
John E. Robie, a Christian, a patriot and a gentleman of 
talent, and noble purposes and aim, was its founder and editor. 
He was an earnest, chivalrous worker for the good of our race 
and his demise was profoundly regretted by all who had the 
pleasure of knowing him. 

The Advocate is now published by my talented and inde- 
fatigable co-laborer of the press, the Rev. Dr. A. P. Ripley, 
the firm name being A. P. Ripley & Co. Mr. Ripley is deeply 
imbued with the responsibilities devolving upon a journalist 
who faithfully discharges his duty. I take pleasure in 
recording my humble testimony as to the signal ability with 
which he acquits himself. 

The Catholic Union is issued by the Buffalo Catholic 
Publication Company, weekly. The first number appeared 
April 25, 1872. The paper was printed under the special 
auspices of the Right Rev. Bishop Ryan. Its first editor was 
Mr. J. Edmund Burke, who was succeeded on the first of April, 
1874, b}^ Rev. P. Cronin, of St. Joseph's Cathedral, and who 
now continues to exercise editorial control over it. It is a 



2IO Biographies and yournalism. 

neatly printed sheet, and ably advocates the interests and 
doctrines of the church of which it is an organ. 

During my connection with journalism in Buffalo man)- well- 
intentioned and energetic efforts, evincing much enterprise and 
talent, have been made to establish daily and other papers. 

Prominent among these publications was the Democracy, a 
morning paper, whig and anti-know-nothing in politics, 
established by Mr. Samuel Wilkeson in 1857. This gentleman 
had previously written able articles for the Express while Seth 
C. Hawley, Esq., was its editor, and he was induced to estab- ' 
lish the paper because of his decided passion for journalism 
and his earnest desire to promote the nomination and election 
of William H. Seward for the presidency. Governor Seward 
and Thurlow Weed were so favorably impressed with the 
eminent ability displayed by Mr. Wilkeson, that they induced 
him to'dispose of the Democracy, after he had published it for 
about fifteen months, to the Express, and proceed to Albany, 
where he purchased the interest of Mr. Weed and George 
Dawson in the Albany Evening Journal . Mr. Wilkeson 
remained on the J our nal dihoxxi a year and a half, when, at the 
request of Horace Greeley, he went to New York and assumed 
the responsibilities of day editor. It is proper to say that the 
reason why Mr. Wilkeson sold his interest in the Journal to 
Mr. Weed was that he contracted inflammatory rheumatism of 
the severest character, as he informed me. " I wrote up the 
paper in the forenoon and went to bed in the afternoon, to 
suffer indescribable torture." 

Of the signal ability displayed by Mr. Wilkeson on the 
Tribune, I have not time to speak. Suffice it to say, that few 
men in our land ever wielded so able and incisive a pen. His 
assistants on the Democracy were gentlemen of rare talent and 
scholarship. Chief among them were our gifted former towns- 
man, Ellicott Evans, Esq., a ripe scholar and accomplished 
writer, and the Messrs. Haskins, father and son, both of whom 
ranked very high as elegant, forcible and graphic writers. 



yournalisin. 2 1 1 

One of the successful monthlies of our city is the Live Stock 
yonrnal. It was established in June, 1870, by George A. 
Martin and Henry C. Springer. Its editor was Mr. Martin, 
who is entitled to the credit of having originated the pioneer 
paper of its class in the United States. Serious doubts were 
entertained by its best friends at the initiation of the paper 
whether such an enterprise would be sustained. Mr. Arthur 
Christey is now publisher. 

One of the handsomest sheets (typographically considered) 
ever issued in Buffalo, was the daily Rough Notes, commenced 
March 20, 1852, by George Reese & Co. M. Cadwallader, a 
fearless and eccentric writer, was its chief editor. It was whig 
in politics, was high-toned and every way respectable, and 
deserved, what it did not receive, success. It lasted about 
two years. 

Then there were the Journal of Conivicrcc, the Herald, the 
Times, and many other daily publications, which were only 
published for a few months. 

One of the very latest and most memorable of the hundreds 
of public occasions or excursions that I have participated in, 
by virtue of my relations with the Press, was the Centennial 
Expedition to Philadelphia, in October last, under the affable 
and efficient direction of Mr. H. L. Lyman, Secretary and 
Treasurer of the Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railroad, 
and Mr. C. L. Derby, Centennial agent. Gorgeously equipped 
and handsomely decorated Pullman palace cars, amidst the 
roar of cannon, the melodious strains of the Union Cornet 
Band, and the enthusiastic cheers of thousands of our citizens, 
left the depot of our Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Rail- 
road, and with lightning speed were soon steaming for the 
Keystone State. Never was there a lovelier autumn day. 
Never did the brilliant foliage of our matchless forests so 
nearly rival the colors of the rainbow. Our ride to the City 
of Brotherly Love was a perfect and continuous ovation. 
Fraternal and brotherly was our greeting and princely were 



1 1 2 Biographies and yotirnaiism. 

the hospitalities and entertainments lavished upon us by the 
merchants of Philadelphia. 

Among other notable places we visited was Independence 
Hall, sacred to American liberty, and as I stood within its 
hallowed precincts and surveyed the portraits and the sur- 
roundings of the grand old patriots of the revolution, — as I 
beheld the familiar faces of Washington, of Jefferson, of 
Franklin, of Hancock, of the elder Adams and their com- 
patriots, I could the better appreciate the pathos with which 
the inimitable Webster uttered the words, " Thank God that I 
am an American citizen." I was profoundly impressed, too, 
with the vastness, the grandeur, the exquisite adaptation for 
the purposes for which they are designed, of the Centennial 
Exposition buildings on Fairmount Park. There they stand, 
models of art in the midst of a magnificent panorama of 
nature ; there they stand, a vast river flowing by, in full sight 
of an historic city of near a million of souls, in the distance, 
and grand old trees and beautiful drives and walks, giving 
variety and interest to the scene ; there they stand, emblems 
of advancing civilization — of those benign and heavenly utter- 
ances of " Peace on earth and good-will towards men." And, 
gentlemen, it was to my mind, a never-to-be-forgotten scene, 
when, at the grand banquet at Belmont Hall, ex-Governor 
Bigler, of Pennsylvania, a venerable statesman, full of honors 
and of years, pronounced a glowing eulogy upon the magnani- 
mous action of the British government and Queen Victoria 
in coming forward so liberally in aid of the exposition. He 
said every government on this continent, great and small, 
will be represented; also all the great nations of Europe 
and the Asiatic and Oriental countries. The foreign out-look 
is truly grand, and amongst the most delightful incidents and 
developments in this connection is the magnanimous course 
of the English government and people in putting away all 
thought about the early disobedience of their colonies. (Great 
cheering from all parts of the hall, waving of handkerchiefs, 



yoiw^ialism. 2 1 3 

clapping of hands, the immense audience finallx' j'ielding to a 
very general impulse, and manifesting their appreciation of the 
co-operation of Great Britain, by rising to their feet as one 
man, and joining in the tumult of applause.) A gentleman 
then proposed three cheers for Great Britain, and the call was 
responded to with deafening cheers, in which all present joined 
with hearty good-will ! " The queen acted a noble part in this 
generous work," said Governor Bigler. " God bless the cjueen ! " 
Here the Hon. Frederick Frale\- proposed three cheers for the 
tpicen, which were given with rare heartiness. 

These unmistakable evidences of the completeness of the 
amit\' that now prevails, thank God, between the two great 
English-speaking races of the earth, I hail with deep joy. 
We are two people, boasting a common origin, a common 
language, a like literature, worshipping the same God, and 
animated and inspired by a like und\'ing attachment to the 
eternal principles of constitutional liberty. As I took the last 
lingering look of the Centennial edifice, I recalled to mind 
Webster's magnificent apostrophe to the Union : "God grant 
that when wxy e)'es shall behold for the last time the sun in the 
heavens, that the)- may not fall upon states rent in twain by 
internal feuds, or drenched, it may be, with fraternal blood. 
God grant that the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now full 
high advanced and recognized and honored throughout the 
civilized world, may bear upon its ample folds no such miser- 
able interrogatory as ' What is all this worth ?' but that other 
sentiment near and dear to every American heart — a senti- 
ment that ought to be engraved in letters of gold and floated 
from every flag-staff and house-top throughout the land, 
' Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable ! '" 

Gentlemen, I confess that it is not without emotion, that 
I now proceed to sum up my journalistic career in Buffalo. A 
citizen as long ago as 1842 — connected with the daily press 
ever since that time — commencing editorial life as local of the 
Republic, June, 1847, and founding my own paper in January, 



2 [4 Biographies and youriialism. 

1850, I indeed feel that I am a Buffalonian. Since my resi- 
dence here — during my newspaporial career, a whole gen- 
eration has passed away. What mighty changes have I 
witnessed and chronicled ! Empires and dynasties have risen 
and died and faded into the shadowy past ! What triumphs of 
civilization, what wondrous achievements in all that promotes 
the glory and enduring happiness of our race ! Prominent 
among those events was the annexation of the Lone Star 
Republic of Texas to the Union. The short, sharp ai>^d 
decisive war with Mexico, the heroic achievements of Gen. 
Zachary Taylor, and the triumphal march of America's Wel- 
lington, Gen. Winfield Scott, to the city of Mexico — aye, to 
the very halls of the Montezumas. The columns of my paper 
were draped in mourning upon the death of the beloved 
Taylor, and duly narrated the accession to power and admir- 
able administration of our now, alas ! deceased statesman and 
townsman, Millard Fillmore. 

It has fallen to my lot to announce the successful establish- 
ment of ocean steam navigation ; the consummation of the 
greatest of art wonders, the Atlantic cable, the encircling and 
binding together of the whole civilized globe by magnetic 
wires, and the uniting of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by 
the iron bands of the Pacific railway. How cruel, sanguinary 
wars have devastated the earth during the life-time of the Post. 
There was the gigantic wars between Russia and the allied 
powers, terminating in the capture of Sebastopol ; the Franco- 
Austrian and the Franco-German struggle, and, towering above 
all in its colossal proportions, our own civil war. What a 
procession of memorable events passed before us during that 
trying period in our nation's life. One million of Northern 
freemen fired with indignation at the fall of Fort Sumpter, flew 
to arms that the fairest republic of earth might live. 

My columns and extra Posts photographed the fall of Fort 
Donaldson, Vicksburg and Memphis ; Sherman's march to 
the sea and Sheridan's ride to Winchester twenty miles away ! 



yournalism. 2 1 5 

who has even adequately painted the mighty battles before, 
and the fall of the rebel stronghold, Richmond ; the final 
culmination of all in the capitulation of Lee's exhausted forces 
to the grand Union army with its illustrious commander, 
Ul}'sses S. Grant ! It has been my privilege to record the 
blotting out of the foul stain of African slavery from our 
national escutcheon, thanks to the immortal proclamation of 
Abraham Lincoln, backed by the loyal North. And how we 
were all stunned, as it were, when we heard of the wicked 
assassination of that man of the people, who, springing up 
from the humblest walks of life, was twice elevated to that 
lofty and unsurpassed position of power, the presidency of the 
United States. 

I have portrayed the universal, the profound grief of the 
nation as its statesmen, orators, authors and other shining 
lights were gathered to their fathers ; there were the lofty, the 
severely intellectual John C. Calhoun, the great man of the 
South ; Henry Clay the majestic orator, patriot and statesman 
and the idol of the American people ; Daniel Webster, the great 
American constitutional lawyer, whose orations have come 
down to us unequalled specimens of eloquence, argument, 
logic, and beauty of diction. 

My columns have, from time to time, been draped in mourn- 
ing as a testimonial of the loss we all experienced in the demise 
of America's Washington Irving and J. Fenimore Cooper, 
or of England and Scotland's Dickens, Bulwer and Macaulay. 

The triumphs of Jenny Lind, Kate Hayes, Anna Bishop, 
Alboni, Parodi, Parepa, Neilson and other queens of songs have 
been duly pictured in my Post. It is something, to truthfully 
say, that one has heard all the great singers of a generation ! 

How my columns have painted the rise and wonderful 
progression of Buffalo ; how I have witnessed its advance in 
population, wealth, resources and intellectual development. 
How came up in my mind this day the Buffalo of upwards 
of thirty years ago. Its docks were then the liveliest part of it. 



2i6 Biographies and yoitrnalism. 

Floating palaces left daily for western ports crowded with first- 
class passengers. Commercial street and the wharves were 
then busy places indeed. People fairly hurried to and fro. 
Bands played and all seemed merry as the marriage bell. 
Railroads were not then, as now, king, and the steamer 
and stage coach were the fashion. 

Again, contrast for a moment the Young Men's Association 
of thirty years ago when, at the most, two or three hundred 
persons attended the lectures at the rented rooms on South, 
Division street, ushered in by Mr. Sergeant, the librarian, with 
the immense audiences who now throng St. James Hall on a 
lecture night. And the best part of it is that the association, 
which I have seen come up from its very infancy, now owns 
St. James block, upon the site of which, in olden times, Carr 
and Warren successfully managed the Eagle street theatre, 
and, what is not to be overlooked, will soon occupy its new and 
elegant building on Washington street between Broadway and 
Clinton. Under the able administration of its President, Hon. 
Jewett M. Richmond, the association now enjoys exceptional 
prosperity. 

What changes I have seen in the Buffalo bar. Well do I 
remember the tall and commanding form of General George 
P. Barker (whose life I wrote in 1848), whose eloquence was 
magnetic ; there were the brilliant and high-toned Henry K. 
Smith, the persuasive and learned Solomon G. Haven, the 
severely intellectual and statesmanlike Albert H. Tracy, the 
elegant, eloquent and genial Eli Cook, always universally 
popular; there were Moseley, Sherwood, Tillinghast, Austin, 
Sawin, Sill and others who stood in the very front rank of 
their profession. How often have I been charmed by their 
oratory, moved by their pathos, and delighted with their humor 

and wit. 

What ravages, too, has time made upon the bench of Buffalo. 
Judge Seth E. Sill, James Mullett, Isaac A. Verplanck, Joseph 
G. Masten, Nathan K. Hall and George W. Houghton, have 



yournalism. 217 

each in time been called away from the busy scenes of life to 
a better and happier home. What changes, too, I have 
witnessed in our city churches. At the time to which I advert 
there were only two Episcopal churches, St. Paul's, Rev. Dr. 
Shelton, pastor, and Trinity, Rev. Mr. Hawks, subsequently 
bishop of Missouri, pastor. There were two Presbyterian 
churches, the First, and Rev. Dr. Lord's (Central Presby- 
terian), the Washington Street Baptist, Grace Church (the 
Methodist), the Universalist and the Unitarian, and two 
Catholic churches, St. Patrick's on Batavia and St. Louis on 
Main street. Then there were no grand, imposing, beautiful 
cathedrals, no medical colleges, no art galleries, glistening wath 
superb gems of art ; no historical society ; no magnificent 
park ; no splendid bank buildings ; no steam fire engines ; no 
talk about gas and water monopolies. We had no city water 
works and we all felt profoundly grateful for our gas works. 

I have made mention of the historic old Eagle Street Thea- 
tre, where I saw the famous Junius Brutus Booth, the illustri- 
ous Macready, and America's unsurpassed Edwin Forrest, and 
Charlotte Cushman. As a matter of local history, I pleasur- 
ably recall to mind in this connection the present beautiful, 
ably managed and successful Academy of Music, of which our 
worthy townsmen, the Messrs. Henry L. and John H. Meech, 
are owners and managers. 

I hope I shall be acquitted of egotism when I say that as an 
editor, I have endeavored at all times to do my duty. I have 
endeavored to expose corruption and fraud ; to raise up the 
down-trodden and lowly ; to advance in every manner in my 
power, the interests of civilization, our common humanity and 
true Christianity. I have never sought to array class against 
class, or nationality against nationality. I have upheld the 
flag of this, my adopted country, whenever and wherever its 
honor has been assailed, and have never stooped so low as to 
defame the land of my birth. I glory in Buffalo, and hope to 
ever be true to its interests. 

Finally, as I remember the uncertainty of all things earthly ; 
as I remember how transitory are mortal affairs, I fervently 
exclaim, in the historic language of Tiny Tim : 

" God bless us every one !" 
15 



APPENDIX. 



"JOURNALISM "-CONTINUED FROM 1876 TO 1886. 



A DECADE has elapsed since the preceding pages were 
written and read before the Buffalo Historical Society. It 
is, consequently, proper that I should mention the present 
administration of the papers of the city. 

The Buffalo Conimcrcial Advertiser, now under the sole 
proprietorship of James D. Warren, was never more prosperous 
or ably conducted. It is not only a power in Western New 
York, but in the nation. Mr. Warren, by his executive ability, 
his unsullied personal character and his courageous devotion 
to principle, has won a position of great prominence. The 
confidence which is reposed in him, and the universal respect 
in which he is held, was evidenced by the unsolicited and 
cordial support extended to him as a candidate for the repub- 
lican nomination for governor. May our honored townsman 
long live to enjoy his well-earned success. His son, Orsamus 
G. Warren, is intrusted with the entire business management 
of the extensive establishment, and his decided ability, his 
untiring devotion to his duties and his uniform courtesy 
are invaluable aids in the transaction of the large and 
increasing business of the concern. William E. Foster is 
editor-in-chief. His style is forcible and scholarly, and he 
knows how to hit hard without transcending the decencies 
and amenities of journalism. Mr. Foster reflects honor on 
the profession as a scholar and gentleman. The associate 
editors, William J. Morgan and Frank M. Hollister, are gentle- 
men of positive ability, and by their attainments and experi- 



yournalism. 2 1 9 

ence are well qualified for their positions. Isaac Bromley is 
fast acquiring an enviable reputation by his special articles, 
which evidence superior talent. Edwin Bangasser, the conn- 
mercial editor and reporter, has won his way to the position he 
now ably fills from an apprentice boy. He has genuine talent, 
and has amply justified the kindness of the proprietor of the 
Commercial in promoting him. The sporting editor of the 
paper, Frank G. Smith, is first-class in the discharge of his 
duties, and makes his department especially interesting. J. R. 
Drake ably and acceptably acquits himself as musical critic, 
and is an affable, scholarly gentleman. Arthur W. Austin 
faithfully and with positive ability fills the important station 
of city editor, efficiently assisted by Sidney G. Sherwood. Mr. 
James Albro still remains on the staff of the Conmcrcial, as 
vigorous and genial as of old. The foreman of the newspaper 
department, N. W. Thayer, has, for over thirty years, accept- 
ably and faithfully acquitted himself. 

The Buffalo daily Courier is the oldest, the most influential, 
the most prosperous and ablest conducted democratic daily 
paper in the state outside of New York city. Since my con- 
nection with the press of Buffalo, two of its eminent proprietors, 
Messrs. Joseph Warren and Charles Willard M'Cune, have 
passed from their spheres of great usefulness and exceptional 
success to their eternal home. Mr. Warren was a man of com- 
manding influence in the democratic party, an honest, public- 
spirited, patriotic citizen, a writer of great force and elegance, 
and a generous, agreeble gentleman. Buffalo is deeply in- 
debted to him for his enlightened, unselfish public spirit. Ex- 
Lieutenant-Governor William Dorsheimer (one of the most 
brilliant men in the state, and a noble-hearted, chivalrous 
gentleman), Dennis Bowen and Joseph Warren, did yeoman's 
service in the origination and bringing to a successful com- 
pletion our magnificent park system, and that noble charity, 
the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane. Indeed, it can be 
safely said, that without these three gentlemen (now, alas ! 



2 20 Biographies and yournalis?n. 

deceased) and Professor James P. White (also deceased), 
Buffalo would not to-day have had either of those invaluable 
additions to the importance, the welfare and the beauty of 
our city. Charles W. M'Cune, during the comparatively 
brief period that he was President of The Courier Company, 
not only achieved rare business success, but became a power 
in the councils of the democratic party, a Buffalonian of 
great prominence, a public-spirited, generous-hearted citizen, 
and won the universal respect and confidence of all who were 
brought in contact with him. In his demise, in the midst of 
rare prosperity, so soon after a happy matrimonial connection 
with one of the fairest daughters of Buffalo, our city lost one 
of its noblest men, and the party of which the Courier is a 
conceded organ, an influential supporter. Buffalo met with a 
great loss when passed from earth Charles W. M'Cune ! 

George Bleistein is a worthy successor of his life-long friend. 
His exceptional success is gratifying to his hosts of friends, 
and is another illustration that the highest positions in the 
land, as well as the most unbounded success in business, are 
approached in this country by no royal road. Mr. Bleistein 
worked his way up by real ability, great industry and affability, 
to an important position under Mr. M'Cune's administration, 
and his intimate knowledge of the vast business of The 
Courier Company, and ability to manage it, pointed him out 
as the man to fill the vacant presidency. The touching motto, 
" My Best Friend," wrought in a floral offering placed by Mr. 
Bleistein on the casket of his dead employer, in some measure 
conveys the sentiment which prevailed between the two. He 
has justified the expectations of those who promoted him, and 
I have yet to hear an envious utterance at his good fortune. 

Edwin Fleming, editor-in-chief of the Courier, is one of the 
most vigorous and accomplished writers on the Buffalo press. 
Bold, epigrammatic and scholarly, he daily furnishes power 
and freshness to its columns. Mr. Fleming, for some ten 
years, was the Washington correspondent for prominent news- 



yournalism. 221 

papers, such as the Buffalo Courier, New York Jotiriial of 
Commerce, Detroit Free Press and St. Louis Republican. His 
associates now on the Courier are Messrs. Otto Albing, Leslie 
Thorn, F. A. Shepard and Walter Gary. Leslie Thorn is a 
brilliant, industrious and forcible writer who has already 
made his mark on several of our city journals. The columns 
of the paper are also enriched by articles and correspond- 
ence from the graceful pens of the Misses Jeanette M. 
Welch and Charlotte Mulligan. Messrs. Charles A. Thomas, 
Thomas Murphy, J. Gordon Kellas, A. Monte Cutler, and Mr. 
A. W. Lyman (Washington correspondent), are also employed 
on the Courier. 

George Ferris, city editor, has for many years displayed 
marked ability and industry in the discharge of his important 
duties. He is a veteran in the journalistic ranks, and is quite 
at home in his favorite profession. H. D. Vought, for many 
years city editor of the Buffalo Evening Post, has for several 
years done good service on the Courier staff. He is talented, 
faithful and efficient. Simon Fleischmann, a gentleman of 
versatile talent, is the able and brilliant dramatic and musical 
critic of the Courier. I predict for him decided success in his 
professional pursuit. John L. Schrader, formerly a useful 
member of the staff of the Buffalo Evening Post, is now the 
efficient and capable commercial and marine editor of the 
Co2irier, and displays ability, much industry and faithfulness. 
Charles Schweigert, also formerly connected with the Buffalo 
Evening Post, is now and has been for many years the efficient 
and acceptable foreman of the Courier composing-room. 

The success of the Sunday and daily News in Buffalo has 
been something extraordinary. The Sunday paper was estab- 
lished in November, 1873, by Edward H. Butler. On Octo- 
ber II, 1880, he issued the first number of the now live, 
prosperous, ably conducted daily Neivs, with its over 37,000 
daily circulation ! Mr. Butler, the editor and proprietor of 
these influential papers, is a man of " indomitable " pluck, 



222 Biographies and yournalism. 

perseverance and industry. He is fearless and independent, 
loyal to his friends, and a terror to his opponents and de- 
famers. He was sympathetic and generous to me in my days 
of business trouble. In the business management of his 
establishment he is ably and efficiently assisted by his genial 
brother, J. Ambrose Butler. Mr. William Mcintosh displays 
decided talent and industry as managing editor. He has 
already made a prominent position on Buffalo journalism 
Edward W. Drew, who for a time was on the staff of the 
Post^ is on the Nezvs staff and gracefully acquits himself. 

The Sunday morning Times was established by Norman E. 
Mack, about six years ago, and is a decided success. The 
Buffalo daily Times, of which Mr. Mack was also the original 
editor and proprietor, was first issued some three years ago. 
It is now the official paper of the city, has a large and in- 
creasing circulation, and is published by the Times Printing 
Company, of which Mr. Mack is president. The Times' editor- 
in-chief is James Cronley, formerly of the News. He is an 
editor of positive force and ability and exerts decided influence. 
F. C. Gram ably fills the position of city editor. The Tiines 
is independent democratic in politics. 

Francis F. Fargo, by his connection editorially with the 
Express, Tunes, and other journals of the city, has displayed 
ability, attainments and industry as a writer which have given 
him a prominent position. He is also an effective, graceful 
speaker, and his logic and eloquence have powerfully aided 
the republican party in Western New York. His editorial and 
public career in California were highly creditable to him. As 
a member of the California legislature and Clerk of the Supreme 
Court of the State he made a good record. He also made an 
admirable president of the Press Club of Buffalo, and ably filled 
the position of city clerk. 

The Buffalo Christian Advocate is now in a more prosperous 
condition than ever. Rev. S. McGerald, a gentleman of solid 
attainments and sterling character, is its editor and proprietor. 



yournalism. 223 

One year ago, at the Genesee Methodist Conference, Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Hurst, at the unanimous request of the Conference, 
appointed Mr. McGerald, editor of the Advocate. In Decem- 
ber, 1885, he became sole proprietor. Under his able adminis- 
tration, the circulation has more than trebled. It is now 
upwards of 6,000 weekly, and is steadily increasing. In con- 
nection with this paper, I notice with pleasure that Charles A. 
Brosart, formerly in my employ on the Buffalo Evening Post, 
is still foreman, a position he has well filled for over a quarter 
of a century. 

The Catholic Unio>i still prospers, and there is good reason 
for it, as its editor and manager, Rev. P. Cronin, is favorably 
and widely known for his ripe talents as a journalist, his ready 
and persuasive oratory and his large-hearted devotion to the 
interests of our common humanity. The Utiion has been made 
strong and exceptionally useful under the control of my gifted 
cotemporary. 

Since my lecture was originally written, Frederick Held, the 
long-time and respected editor and proprietor of the German 
daily Detnocrat, has deceased. He was a self-made, honorable 
man, wielded a large influence in the democratic party, and 
was recognized as a representative German-American citizen. 
The Democrat is now successfully managed by his son, William 
H. Held and his brother. It is an influential paper. 

William Thurstone has for upwards of twenty-three years 
displayed rare industry, vigorous intellect and never-failing 
urbanity in the discharge of his arduous and important duties 
as Secretary of the Board of Trade and Merchant's Exchange. 
In addition to the constant labor and care involved in the 
performance of the requirements of this position, he has been 
for more than twenty years the commercial editor of the 
Buffalo daily Courier. He has also been the painstaking, valu- 
able market correspondent for New York and western journals, 
and furnished for many years, as an expert of the United 
States government, valuable statistical reports of the trade 



2 24 Biographies and yotii-nalism. 

and commerce of the lakes, railroads and canals. He has 
always been a zealous worker for old folk's festivals, church 
charities, and good enterprises generally. He was the first 
and only democrat who ever represented the Ninth ward in 
the Board of Supervisors. Mr. Thurstone possesses versatile 
ability, and wins by his generous, genial social qualities, the 
good opinion of all who come in contact with him. 

The Sunday Truth was established August 13, 1882. It is 
strictly independent in politics, is the largest weekly paper in 
Buffalo, is quite widely circulated and is especially read by 
the laboring class. It is a bright, ably conducted sheet. 
Messrs. Hausauer & Rappold are the publishers, and they are 
deserving, capable gentlemen. Richmond C. Hill, an experi- 
enced, accomplished writer, is managing editor, and John S. 
V. Bowen, city editor, is a capable gentleman. 

The Farmer s Reviezv and Live Stock Journal is published 
weekly by the Messrs. Webster Brothers. It is devoted to 
farm and live stock interests, and is a decided success. Mr. C. 
H. Webster, a meritorious gentleman, ably edits it. 

The Sixteenth Amendment is the title of a weekly prohibi- 
tion paper, which is printed by the Sixteenth Amendment 
Publishing Company. W. H. H. Bartram is the editor, and 
he is assisted by A. N. Olmsted, an efficient, thorough busi- 
ness man. It is the sole newspaper representative of the 
third party, prohibitionists, in Buffalo. 

The Argus is the title of a monthly publication, devoted to 
the interests of fraternal co-operative insurance, as exempli- 
fied by the Ancient Order of United Workmen. R. C. Hill is 
editor and H. B. Loomis business manager. 

The Freie Presse is now, and has been for years, the able 
German organ of the republican party in Western New York. 
Its editor, Richard Goebel, wields an able and graceful pen, 
and has displayed decided ability on the paper. Its publishers, 
Messrs. Reinecke & Zesch are worthy, reponsible gentlemen. 



yournalism. 225 

There are several other pubHcations in the city of a specialty 
character, but they do not come within the objects of this 
portion of my volume. 

The growth of the newspaper press of the country may be 
measured by the fact that the number of periodicals of all 
classes has increased from 2,526 in 1850 to 11,403, in 1880, and 
their circulation from 5,142,177 copies to 31,177,924. During 
the same period the number of dailies increased from 254 to 
980, and their circulation from 758,454 to 3,637,424, while the 
number of weeklies increased from 1,902 to 8,718, and their 
circulation from 2,944,629 to 19,459,107. The growth has been 
decidedly rapid during the last ten years. The hot canvasses 
that preceded i860, and the war that followed it, gave that 
sort of literature an abnormal growth for a few years. Of 
these 11,403 periodicals, 8,816 published in the census year 1880 
were newspapers in the strict sense, and of the whole number 
of publications 10,625 were in the English language. The 
State of New York leads in every department of periodical 
literature, still she only has 116 daily papers; in this depart- 
ment Pennsylvania follows close with 100; Illinois comes next 
with 75 ; California is fourth with 59, and Ohio fifth with 56. 
Alabama, Florida, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hamp- 
shire, North Carolina, Utah, and Vermont have no publications 
in any foreign language. Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Rhode 
Island, South Carolina and Tennessee have one each. In the 
matter of circulation the pre-eminence of this state in periodi- 
cal literature is more marked. The circulation of New York's 
daily papers amounts to 999,048, while the circulation of 
publications of every description foots up to 9,368,495 ; Penn- 
sylvania follows, but at a distance, with 598,627 and 5,517,343 ^ 
Illinois is third with 270,183 and 2,445,960; Massachusetts 
fourth with 280,399 and 1,938,818, and Ohio fifth with 215,934 
and 1,885,347. The average circulation of each daily in the 
country is 3,971 ; of each weekly 2,177, and of each monthly 
7,917. The average subscription price of each daily is $7.31, 



2 26 Biographies and yourrialism. 

and of each weekly $1.75. In the costliness of production 
and value of product the supremacy of New York is most 
especially noticeable. 

The amount annually paid in wages throughout the countr}' 
in the production of periodical literature is $28,571,336.38 ; the 
value of the product is $87,441,132.22 of which 46.21 per cent, 
is derived from the sale of papers and 53-79 per cent, from 
advertisements. The wages paid in this state amount to 
$6,460,071 and the value of the product to $24,282,660.52. 
Pennsylvania is next in rank, but the publishers spend on 
wages only $2,913,164 and realize but $9,341,497. 

The growth of the American press is more rapid than the 
increase of population ; the rate of the former during the past 
ten years was 49.16; the rate of the latter was only 30 per 
cent. This growth is uniform. The area of country to each 
publication is 260.46 square miles ; and the area of settled 
country is 137.64. The number of inhabitants to each peri- 
odical is 4,399. In frequency of publications, considered with 
reference to territory, Massachusetts leads, having one to every 
nineteen square miles. It is a remarkable fact that out of the 
2,604 counties of the United States 2,072 have papers published 
in them, and in no state east of the Missouri and north of 
Mason and Dixon's line is there a county without a newspaper, 
though there is not a single Southern state in which every 
county is supplied with one. The smallest town in the country 
which supports a daily newspaper is Weldon, North Carolina, 
with a population of 932 ; but Tombstone, Arizona, with a 
population of 973, has two, and Eureka, California, with a 
population of 2,639, has three. 

Though the rate of increase among American periodicals is 
large, the mortality among them is something frightful — es- 
pecially what might be called the infant mortality. During 
the census year not less than 1,120 journals of one kind or 
another were started, and no less than 905 failed. Pittsburg 
with II dailies, circulating 111,001 copies, has a paper for every 



JoM rnalis7n. 227 

1. 14 of its inhabitants, and New York with 29 dailies, circu- 
lating 765,743 copies, has a paper for 1. 57 of its inhabitants, 
while Brooklyn with 4 dailies, circulating 48,537 copies, has only 
one paper every day for 1 1.67 of its inhabitants. 

It is a notable fact that printing was known in China in the 
sixth century, introduced into England in about 1474, and the 
United States in 1536. 

As a part of the history of our city journalism, I here copy 
in full my remarks on the occasion of the memorial ceremonies 
of respect to the memory of Professor Samuel Finley Breese 
Morse, the inventor of the electro-magnetic telegraph. The 
meeting was held in the Central Presbyterian Church on Tues- 
day evening, April 16, 1872. The spacious edifice was crowded 
by an audience of our very best and representative people. 
On motion of his Honor Mayor Brush, ex-President Fillmore 
was called upon to preside. Around the pulpit were many of 
our most eminent citizens. Among others were Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Coxe, Lieut.-Governor Dorsheimer, Rev, Dr. Shelton, 
Rev. Dr. Heacock. Hon. W. P. Letchworth, F. H. Root, Esq., 
and P. P. Pratt, Esq. The exercises were opened with an ap- 
propriate prayer by the Rev. Dr. Lord. The speakers desig- 
nated for the occasion were Rt. Rev. Bishop Coxe, Rev. Dr. 
Muller, Lieutenant-Governor Dorsheimer, George S. Hazard 
and George J. Bryan, then editor and proprietor of the Buffalo 
Evenhig Post. Mr. Bryan's address, which is copied from the 
" Memorial of Samuel Finley Breese Morse," published by 
order of congress, at the government printing office, Washing- 
ton, 1875, was as follows: 

" But mightiest of the mighty means 
On which the arm of Progress leans, 
Man's noblest mission to advance. 
His woes assuage, his weal enhance, 
His rights enforce, his wrongs redress. 
Mightiest of mighty is the Press." 

Truly has the poet sung, " The pen is mightier than the 
sword." There is " a power behind the throne" greater than 



2 28 Biographies and yournalis-m. 

the throne itself. Journalism, the free press, is the corner- 
stone of human liberty. Charles X. and Louis Phillippe lost 
their crowns by vainly endeavoring to crush it out. The two 
great English-speaking nations of the world have been taught 
by their untrammeled journals that " it is preferable to die 
freemen rather than to live slaves." To the " art preservative 
of all arts," to the press, the world is mainly indebted to-day 
for whatever of constitutional liberty it enjoys. I love to hear 
the rumbling of the steam-power press better than the roar of 
artillery. It is silently attacking and vanquishing the Malakoffe 
of vice and Sedans of evil, and its parallels and approaches 
cannot be resisted. I like the click of the type in the compos- 
ing-stick better than the click of the hammer of the musket 
in the hands of the soldier. It bears a leaden messenger of 
deadlier power, of sublimer force, and of surer aim, which will 
hit its mark though a thousand miles away. 

How telegraphing has revolutionized journalism ! How, by 
its magic wand, the mighty events that mark our day and 
generation pass into magnificent procession before us ! Its 
condensed eloquence, its epigrammatic sentences surpass all 
attempts at oratory. How, for instance, we were thrilled as 
we were told that Chicago — the city of the continent that 
most truly reflects the genius, the wonderful progress of the 
American people — was burning. How its appeal for aid to our 
famishing brothers evoked a response as princely as it was 
electric. While the proudest monuments of human genius in 
the devoted city were still burning, the same wires flashed 
back the munificence of our large-hearted people. Our whole 
population rose, as it were, en masse, illustrating that " a touch 
of nature makes the whole world kin." 

Some of the grandest events of modern times have been 
chronicled by this stupendous agency; the union of the 
Atlantic and Pacific oceans by the completion of the Pacific 
Railway; the series of mighty battles before Richmond; its 
fall ; Sherman's march to the sea, and Sheridan's ride to 



yournalism. 229 

Winchester, twenty miles away. How the boldest held his 
breath for a time, as the wires flashed to an astounded people 
the news of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, whose 
unselfish patriotism and heroic devotion to human freedom 
endeared his name like another Washington. 

But the other day, lightning presses, reproducing the cable 
intelligence, kept us advised of the profound sensation felt 
throughout the British empire as the heir-apparent to the 
throne lay at the point of death. The deep sympathy felt for 
the prince and his noble mother, illustrated that we have not 
yet forgotten those ties of a common language, of a common 
origin, laws, and literature, and like grand achievements in 
civilization, which should insure between the two nations a 
continuance of our present peaceful and mutually beneficial 
relations. 

O, how the public journal photographs by its telegraphic 
and other news the sum-total of human existence ! It reflects 
as in a mirror the ambitions, the struggles, the agonies, the 
joys, the sorrows of our race ; it paints, as in the recent case 
of the French emperor at Sedan, the uncertainty of all earthly 
power and grandeur; it pictures to us, as it did in the colossal 
struggle between France and Germany, the sanguinary horrors 
of cruel war. From the golden lands of California to the 
Atlantic, from far-off India, yea, to the uttermost isles of the 
sea, the magic wires bring to our live journals messages full ot 
weal and woe, of deep import to all interests and all classes. 

But for journalism telegraphy would be comparatively use- 
less. Our presses scatter its treasures broadcast throughout 
the land, and they make newspapers an actual necessity. The 
press and telegraph combined may safely be pronounced, next 
to Christianity, the most powerful agencies in the world in 
promoting the civilization, the happiness and the intellectual 
advancement of the human race. 

Magic wires are stretching themselves in all directions over 
the earth, and when their mystic meshes shall at length have 



230 Biographies and yournalism. 

been perfected, our globe itself will be endowed with a sensi- 
tiveness which will render it impossible to touch it on any- 
one point and the touch not be felt from one end of the 
world to the other. And this work is but just commenced ; 
it is but the beginning of the dawn of the world's great 
jubilee. It promises a day of more refinement, more intel- 
lectual brightness, more moral elevation, and, consequently, 
more human felicity than the world has ever seen since its 
creation. > 

I cannot close these historical and autobiographical sketches 
and reminiscences of journalism without offering a few consider- 
ations with reference to the responsibilities and duties of an 
editor. We are all laboring in a common cause. I think it 
may be truly said that the press, the free press, all over the 
world, has but one common mission — to elevate humanity. It 
takes the side of the humble, the lowly, and the poor — always 
of necessity, a necessity of its own existence — as against those 
who from mere position and power hold in their hands the 
destinies of the lowly and the poor, for whom the press is 
instituted. We are all of us, more or less directly, more or 
less exclusively, connected with the movements of governments 
— governments of various forms, in different parts of the world, 
and through different agencies and ways, in that common 
effort to elevate the great mass of our fellow-men, to improve 
their material condition, and give them a higher ground to 
stand upon, and a stronger foot to go through the weary task 
that all of us, in some degree, have to undergo before we fulfill 
our pilgrimage here on earth. 

Newspapers are educators of the people. It is a momentous 
truth, yes, a fearful truth, that the millions have no literature, 
no school, and almost no pulpit, but the press. It is parent, 
pulpit, school, college, theatre, example, counselor, all in one. 
Let me make the newspapers, and I care not who makes the 
religion or the laws. In fact, were the starry heavens deficient 
of one constellation, the vacuum could not be better supplied 
than by the introduction of a printing press. 



yo2irnalism. 231 

To discharge fully the duties of a public journalist would be 
to elevate the vocation to the loftiest summit of human dignity 
and usefulness. A public journalist animated with a due sense 
of the obligations of his responsible trust, and gifted with the 
faculties, intellectual and physical, for their adequate perfor- 
mance, would well deserve to be a public leader in a more 
extended signification of the phrase than that in which it is 
understood. He should have a mind filled with a great variety 
of human learning, and a ready command of all its stores. He 
should have a head cool, clear and sagacious ; a heart warm 
and benevolent; a nice sense of justice; honesty that no 
temptation could corrupt ; intrepidity that no danger could 
intimidate, and independence superior to every consideration 
of mere interest, enmity, or friendship. I claim that the pro- 
fession of journalism is the noblest and most elevating of any, 
inasmuch as the press is the bulwark of civil and religious 
liberty and constitutional freedom. It is the car driven by 
lightning steam power that propels civilization, and dignifies 
and exalts humanity. Consequently, personalties and invec- 
tive indulged in beyond proper limitations are to be deprecated 
and avoided. To my mind, it is revolting to see journalism 
diverted into scurrility and license. 

My lecture is now near its close. My connection with 
journalism has been the pride of my life. I have been es- 
pecially favored by Divine Providence with length of days. 
May my last be better than my first. May I yet live to 
contribute something more to the welfare of Buffalo and 
our common humanity. 



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